South Korea, US forces begin drill after North’s failed satellite launch

ANKARA

South Korean and US military aircraft have staged “regular” joint live-fire drills to “strengthen readiness against North Korean threats” amid heightened tensions about North Korea’s failed satellite launch, Seoul's Air Force said Tuesday.

The drill that began Monday involves 90 aircraft, including South Korea’s F-35A stealth fighters and the US A-10 attack aircraft, above the waters off South Korea's west coast, according to Yonhap News.

The focus is on “strengthening the participating pilots' strike capabilities and bolstering readiness against possible enemy provocations.”

The four-day exercise coincides with North Korea's botched attempt to launch a military spy satellite into orbit late Monday, Seoul-based Yonhap News reported.

North Korea’s rocket exploded minutes after liftoff from the North's major satellite launch site on the northwestern coast, according to the South's military.

Meanwhile, China urged maintaining peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.

"Promoting political resolution process for the Korean Peninsula issue is in the common interests of all parties. We call on all parties to make constructive efforts toward this goal," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told reporters in Beijing.