South Korea and the U.S. staged a joint air exercise on Tuesday involving an American B-1 strategic bomber, training that Seoul framed as a direct response to the persistent threat posed by North Korea’s advancing weapons programs.

The drill, held in South Korean airspace, featured ROK F-35A and F-16 fighter jets and U.S. F-16 aircraft. It marked the latest in a series of visible demonstrations of the allies’ extended deterrence posture, Seoul’s defense ministry said in a press release.

“This training was conducted to showcase the integrated ROK-U.S. extended deterrence capability and strengthen the interoperability of our combined forces, in