MOSCOW, April 17. /TASS/. The Republic of Korea and the United States have begun combined air drills, Yonhap reported on Monday, citing South Korea’s Air Force Operations Command.

According to the news agency, the 12-day flying training will be aimed at enhancing the interoperability and combined operational capability of the two countries’ fighters. For this purpose, the allies will stage various training, including a strike package flight and close air support operations, the agency said.

The exercise will involve more than 60 South Korean warplanes, including F-35A, F-15K and KF-16 fighters, while the US side will mobilize more than 40 aircraft, including F-16 fighters, A-10 attack aircraft as well as F-35B and FA-18 jets of the Marine Corps.

Since early this year, the US, South Korea and Japan have staged a number of combined air exercises with a focus on deterrence of the DPRK on the Korean Peninsula or near it. On Saturday, defense officials from those countries met in Washington to discuss holding regular anti-tank and anti-submarine drills to counter threats from North Korea.