The South Korean military trained to strike a missile launcher with a guided bomb on Thursday, in a show of force following North Korea’s launch of a new intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) earlier in the day.

In the exercise, a F-15K fighter jet dropped a GBU-12 air-to-ground guided bomb on a dummy transporter erector launcher (TEL), successfully hitting it, video released by South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) shows.

A vehicle pulled the dummy TEL to simulate North Korea’s mobile launcher capabilities, but the bomb was not equipped with a warhead.

The training was part of the joint-ROK-U.S. 2024 Freedom Flag drill involving over 110 manned and unmanned aircraft, according to JCS. 

The drill intended to show the allies’ ability “to counter North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats with overwhelming force,” and included training to “penetrate simulated enemy radar networks, and conduct swift, precise strikes against key enemy command structures,” JCS stated in a press release.

A ROK F-15K carries out a strike on a dummy TEL with a guided bomb. | Video: Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (Oct. 31, 2024)

Specific assets that participated in the joint exercise included ROK F-35A, F-15K and KF-16, and U.S. aircraft like the F-35B, F-16 and MQ-9 unmanned aerial vehicles.

“The forces formed a large joint assault formation over the Yellow Sea and central inland airspace, executing various tactical flight maneuvers and precision bombing exercises,” JCS said.

Thursday’s drill took place after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversaw the launch of the new “Hwasong-19” solid-fuel ICBM earlier in the morning. On Friday, state media reported that the new missile “will operate alongside the Hwasong-18 to serve as the primary core weapon for defending the DPRK, thoroughly deterring acts of aggression and reliably safeguarding national security.”

An 11-axle mobile TEL carried the missile launched by North Korea on Thursday. 

Both the Hwasong-18 and Hwasong-19 are solid-propellant missiles, meaning they can be prepared and launched more quickly than their liquid-fuel counterparts. 

The staged strike on a North Korean TEL marks the second time that the ROK Air Force conducted such a drill this year.

In March, the ROK Air Force also simulated precision strikes against North Korean ballistic missile launchers as part of the U.S.-ROK Freedom Shield drills.

At the time, Ban Kil-joo, a professor at the Ilmin International Relations Institute at Korea University, told NK News that identifying and eliminating TELs that can launch nuclear weapons has become a greater concern for South Korean forces as the DPRK has advanced its missile arsenal.

“It’s crucial that the ROK’s defensive measures proactively seek out these TELs in a conflict situation to eliminate the risk of a ballistic missile landing in a civilian zone,” Ban said.

North Korea has developed a range of launch platforms for its nuclear arsenal, from road-mobile TELs and missile silos to weapons launched from submarines, trains and submerged platforms. 

Edited by Bryan Betts