Twenty South Korean and U.S. fighter jets staged a show of force over the West Sea on Tuesday against North Korea's firing of eight ballistic missiles last Sunday.
The maneuver came only a day after the two allies fired eight surface-to-surface missiles into the East Sea the previous day.
"We conducted an air show of force with the U.S. in the open airspace over the West Sea in response to North Korea's continued ballistic missile provocations," the Joint Chiefs of Staff here said Tuesday.
Sixteen South Korean F-35A stealth fighters armed with precision-guided munitions, F-15Ks and KF-16s as well as four U.S. F-16 fighters took part.
Fighter jets fly in formation over the West Sea during a joint maneuver by South Korea and the U.S. on Tuesday. /Yonhap
"In an attack formation, these fighters practiced responding to an enemy threat," the JCS added. "They displayed combined defense capability, showing off their readiness to strike back with swiftness and precision in response to any kind of provocation by the North."
It was the first time that the F-35A fighter made a public appearance. Equipped with an integrated combat air system, the stealth fighter is almost impossible for North Korea radar to intercept.
