The United States, South Korea and Japan carried out a trilateral air exercise on Friday featuring two U.S. B-52H nuclear-capable strategic bombers, in a coordinated show of force against North Korean threats that coincided with a high-level meeting between the three nations’ top military commanders.

The drill, held over international waters south of Jeju Island, marked the B-52H’s first deployment to the Korean Peninsula this year. The bombers were accompanied by ROK air force KF-16 fighter jets and Japan air self-defense force F-2 aircraft, according to a press release from South Korea’s defense ministry. 

The training was designed to bolster