South Korea dropped bombs near its border with North Korea Tuesday in response to its neighbor’s latest provocation.
North Korea fired a ballistic missile — believed by some to be the Hwasong-12 intermediate-range ballistic missile first tested in May — over Japan early Tuesday morning, raising alarms in the island nation.
In the wake of this aggressive new test, South Korean President Moon Jae-in ordered a show of “overwhelming force” against North Korea, according to Yonhap News Agency.
Shortly thereafter, the South Korean Air Force staged a live-fire drill in which it practiced bombing the North Korean leadership out of existence.
Four F-15K fighters dropped eight MK 84 bombs — 2,000-pound bombs designed to penetrate hardened targets — on a mock target at the Taebaek Pilsung Firing Range in Gangwon Province. South Korea said the drill was meant to demonstrate that it is prepared to overwhelm its hostile northern neighbor.
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All eight bombs reportedly hit their targets, demonstrating a “strong capability to punish” North Korea in an attack. “The drill reconfirmed South Korea Air Force capability to destroy the enemy’s leadership in cases of emergency,” a South Korean Ministry of National Defense spokesman explained to CNN.
The South also released footage of its recent missile tests involving two new missiles with ranges between 300 and 500 miles, the latter being able to hit targets across the North. The longer-range missiles will soon be operationally deployed, enhancing South Korea’s ability to carry out the Korea Massive Punishment and Retaliation strategy in the event of an attack.
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NEW: #SouthKorea‘s Agency for Defense Development releases new footage of last week’s Hyunmoo-II SRBM tests. pic.twitter.com/TfKaHWjgXh
— Ankit Panda (@nktpnd) August 29, 2017
While such displays of military power are impressive, shows of force have failed to deter North Korean aggression in the past or slow the pace at which the reclusive country is advancing its ballistic missile program. The U.S. has flown B-1B Lancers — powerful conventional bombers — over the peninsula numerous times, the U.S. and its allies have staged joint combat drills in the region, and U.S. and South Korea have even fired off their own missiles in response to North Korean testing. The North, however, has been unmoved.
North Korea has actually argued that such displays justify its pursuit of weapons of mass destruction and the means to deliver them to targets in South Korea, Japan, and even the continental U.S. The North has launched around twenty missiles this year, and it is showing zero signs of “restraint.”
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