US, ROK begin ‘largest-ever’ air drills despite national mourning period



News US, ROK begin ‘largest-ever’ air drills despite national mourning period Drills against North Korean threats go ahead after Seoul said it was reviewing postponement over Itaewon tragedy Jeongmin Kim \| Shreyas Reddy October 31, 2022 SHARE COPY LINK FACEBOOK X LINKEDIN MASTODON U.S. and ROK F-35A Lighting II aircraft soar in a tight formation over South Korea on July 12, 2022 \| Image: U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Trevor Gordnier / U.S. Air Force The U.S. and South Korean air forces kicked off their largest-ever joint drills on Monday despite speculation that they may be postponed or suspended after a deadly crowd surge in Seoul and the announcement of a nationwide mourning period. A military official confirmed to NK News that the Vigilant Storm exercise went ahead as scheduled and will continue until Friday. The U.S. 7th Air Force previously announcedon Friday that about 240 aircraft and thousands of airmen and women from the two countries, as well as U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Navy and U.S. Army personnel, would participate in the drills. © Korea Risk Group. All rights reserved. No part of this content may be reproduced, distributed, or used for commercial purposes without prior written permission from Korea Risk Group. Get the Daily Update & Podcast Updates Start your day with the North Korea stories that matter most – as selected by Trending

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US, ROK begin ‘largest-ever’ air drills despite national mourning period

Drills against North Korean threats go ahead after Seoul said it was reviewing postponement over Itaewon tragedy

Jeongmin Kim | Shreyas Reddy October 31, 2022

US, ROK begin ‘largest-ever’ air drills despite national mourning period

U.S. and ROK F-35A Lighting II aircraft soar in a tight formation over South Korea on July 12, 2022 | Image: U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Trevor Gordnier / U.S. Air Force

The U.S. and South Korean air forces kicked off their largest-ever joint drills on Monday despite speculation that they may be postponed or suspended after a deadly crowd surge in Seoul and the announcement of a nationwide mourning period.

A military official confirmed to NK News that the Vigilant Storm exercise went ahead as scheduled and will continue until Friday.

The U.S. 7th Air Force previously announcedon Friday that about 240 aircraft and thousands of airmen and women from the two countries, as well as U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Navy and U.S. Army personnel, would participate in the drills.

About the Authors

Jeongmin Kim

Jeongmin Kim is Executive Director at Korea Risk Group, based in Seoul. She covers inter-Korean relations and North and South Korean foreign and military affairs. Kim has covered the 2022 ROK presidential election on the ground, and prior to joining NK News, she worked for the CSIS Korea Chair in Washington D.C. and Reuters news agency’s Seoul bureau.

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Shreyas Reddy

Shreyas Reddy is the Lead Correspondent at NK News, based in Seoul. He previously worked as a researcher at BBC Monitoring, where his work focused on news and key people and organizations from the Korean Peninsula, Japan, Southeast Asia and the Pacific. Follow him on Twitter.

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