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South Korea, US end Vigilant Storm exercise that caused criticism in DPRK

The Vigilant Strom exercise started on Monday and was initially supposed to end on Friday

SEOUL, November 5. /TASS/. South Korean and US military have ended the Vigilant Storm joint aviation exercise involving about 240 planes, to which North Korea reacted by missile launches, Yonhap reported Saturday.

It was announced on Saturday noon that two US B-1B strategic bombers will take part in the last day of the exercise. They arrived from Guam and carried out a joint sortie over the Korean Peninsula with fourth South Korean F-35A and four US F-16 planes. According to South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff, these supersonic bombers were deployed on the Korean Peninsula for the first time since 2017. South Korean military added that this decision evidences Washington’s commitment to the expanded deterrence of DPRK.

On Saturday, North Korea launched four short-range missiles towards the Yellow Sea. They travelled for about 130 km with the maximum altitude of 20 km and maximum speed of Mach 5.

The Vigilant Strom exercise started on Monday and was initially supposed to end on Friday. However, on Thursday, Seoul and Washington decided to prolong the exercise for one more day in response to North Korean missile launches.

According to Yonhap, North Korea launched over 30 missiles during the week.

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