Seoul, Oct 22
Air Force commanders from South Korea and the United States discussed North Korea's provocations in an annual meeting, the South's Air Force said on Tuesday, amid heightened tensions following the North's explosion of inter-Korean roads.
According to the Air Force, the two-day Air Boss Conference (ABC) that began on Monday brought together some 80 officials from the allies, including commanders of the South's Air Force Operations Command and Air Force Air and Missile Defence Command as well as the US 7th Air Force, Marine Corps Forces Korea and the 5th Air Force stationed in Japan, Yonhap news agency reported.
In the meeting at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, 60 kilometres south of Seoul, the commanders shared their assessment of the security environment amid the North's continued provocations and its recent decision to send troops to support Russia in Moscow's war against Ukraine.
Earlier this month, the North also accused South Korea of sending drones carrying anti-North Korean leaflets to Pyongyang and blew up inter-Korean roads on its side of the heavily fortified border.
"We will reinforce combined air operations capabilities against advancing North Korean threats through discussions on operations planning and forces deployment concept," Gen. Kim Hyoung-soo, commander of the South's Air Force Operations Command, said, noting that the meeting will serve as a reminder of the allies' robust deterrence posture.
Launched in 1992, the ABC is held on an annual basis to analyse the security circumstances surrounding the Korean Peninsula and discuss the latest air and space operations.