SpaceWar.com reports: “South Korea and the United States staged joint air drills featuring an American strategic bomber and stealth fighter planes in response to threats from North Korea, the Yonhap news agency said, drawing an angry rebuke Thursday from Pyongyang.

The planes flew Wednesday over the Yellow Sea, located between China and the Korean peninsula, in the first such exercises this year, Yonhap said, citing South Korea’s military.

The display of military power came a day after US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin and his counterpart from the South warned of an increase in such drills and more security cooperation between the two allies as they grapple with what they call rising missile and nuclear threats from Pyongyang.

The latest drills involved a B-1B strategic bomber and F-22 and F-35B stealth fighter planes from the US Air Force and F-35A fighter planes from the South Korean military, Yonhap said.

‘The combined air drills this time show the US’ will and capabilities to provide strong and credible extended deterrence against North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats,’ Yonhap quoted the defence ministry as saying…”