Upcoming joint exercise with South Korea, Japan is frequently held drill: Pentagon spokesman

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby points to a questioner as he speaks during a media briefing at the Pentagon in Washington, June 4. AP-Yonhap

The upcoming joint air force exercise with South Korea and Japan is routine training that is held “very frequently” and is aimed at enhancing their joint defense capability, a U.S. Department of Defense official said Friday (local time).

Department spokesman John Kirby also said the joint drill will highlight the importance of trilateral cooperation between the United States, Japan and South Korea.

“I’m not going to comment on the reaction by North Korean officials. I would simply add that this is an exercise that we conduct very frequently,” the spokesman said in a press briefing.

His remarks came one day after a North Korean propaganda outlet denounced Seoul’s decision to take part in the annual multinational air force Red Flag exercise to be held in Alaska.

The South said earlier that it would send dozens of planes and 100 air force personnel to take part in the military drill, slated to be held from June 10 to 25.

Kirby said about 300 military personnel, including those from South Korea and Japan, will take part in this year’s Red Flag exercise.

Gen. Kenneth Wilsbach, commander of U.S. Pacific Air Forces, has said the exercise “shouldn’t be seen as anything other than routine training.”

“It is not, in any way, meant to be escalatory to the region or destabilizing to the region,” he said in a telephone conference with journalists in the region Friday (local time).

Kirby highlighted the importance of the upcoming joint military drills as it will involve both South Korea and Japan for the first time in more than two years.

“You have heard the secretary talk about the importance of trilateral cooperation when he visited Japan and South Korea not too long ago, so this is an example of that,” said the spokesman, referring to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s visits to Seoul and Tokyo in March.

“One of the things that he talked about in both places was the importance of trilateral cooperation, and these aren’t just partners. These are allies of the United States. And so he always wants to look for ways to improve alliance interoperability and capability, and this exercise will provide us an opportunity to do that,” he added. (Yonhap)