7th Air Force spokesperson Kelly Jeter said, “The South Korean and US Air Forces have reached an agreement to extend the ‘Vigilant Storm’ in response to North Korea’s recent provocative actions.”
[지터 대변인] “ROK and the US Air Force have agreed to extend Storm Vigilant in response to recent provocative actions from the North.”
Spokesperson Jeter responded to a written VOA investigation asking why the United States and South Korea extended Vigilant Storm, a large-scale joint air exercise on 4.
“We don’t discuss the specific details of training,” he said, adding, “We continue to train to prepare for all kinds of emergencies so that we can be perfectly prepared for anything.”
[지터 대변인] “We don’t discuss specific training details. We continuously train for a full range of contingencies to make sure we are fully prepared for any event. ”
Jeter added that the exercise was a success.
The US and South Korean military authorities have decided to extend the Vigilant Storm exercise, originally scheduled for 4, by one day, in response to subsequent provocations from North Korea.
In this regard, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a joint press conference with South Korean Defense Minister Lee Jong-seop just after the 54th US-Korea Security Council (SCM) held at the Pentagon on the 3rd, “They are with Secretary Lee to further strengthen our readiness and interoperability. We have decided to expand the joint exercise “Vigilant Storm ‘”, he said.
It is the first time in five years since 2017 that the United States and the Republic of Korea have conducted a large-scale joint air exercise mobilizing some 240 of the last remaining fighters from both countries.
This is Dong-Jeong Park from VOA News.
