US and South Korea deploy 20 fighter jets at sea amid tensions with North Korea

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the deployment involved 16 South Korean aircraft – including the F-35A stealth fighter – and four F-16 fighter jets from South Korea. America.

The deployment of the two allies is intended to demonstrate the ability to react quickly to recent moves by North Korea, AP reported.

The deployment of 20 fighter jets from the United States and South Korea comes a day after the two countries fired eight surface-to-surface missiles into waters east of South Korea after North Korea launched eight missiles over the weekend.

North Korea appears to be ready to conduct a nuclear test at its nuclear test site in the northeastern town of Punggye-ri, according to US and South Korean officials. The last nuclear test was conducted by Pyongyang in September 2017.

During an ongoing visit to Seoul, US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman warned of a “swift and forceful” response should North Korea conduct another nuclear test.

“Any nuclear test would be in total violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions. There will be a quick and strong response to such a test,” Sherman said after meeting with South Korean Vice Foreign Minister Cho Hyun-dong.

The US diplomat also urged Pyongyang to stop its weapons testing activities and choose a diplomatic path.

US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman and his South Korean counterpart Cho Hyun-dong are scheduled to have a trilateral meeting with Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Mori Takeo on June 8 to discuss the North Korean nuclear issue.

On June 6, Rafael Mariano Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said that there are signs that one of the passages at North Korea’s Punggye-ri test site has been reopened, possibly possibly in preparation for a nuclear test.

Hours before Sherman’s meeting in Seoul, State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters in Washington that the United States remained concerned that North Korea could carry out its seventh nuclear test in the coming days. the coming days.