‘Vigilant Ace’ war games act as show of force against defiant DPRK

World
Europe

Pyongyang is keeping close watch on the show of force happening to its south. Hundreds of military aircraft from the US and Republic of Korea (ROK) have taken to the skies as a warning against the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).

State of the art F-22 stealth fighters prepare to take off as part of the Vigilant Ace drills being conducted by the US and ROK. The exercises involve 230 warplanes and at least 12,000 military personnel.

Maintainers from the 25th Fighter Squadron prepare an A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft for live weapons loading during exercise Vigilant Ace 18 at Osan Air Base, the Republic of Korea, Dec. 2, 2017. /US Air Force photo

Officials in Pyongyang have described the exercises as the US president “begging for a nuclear war.”

“North Korea (DPRK) has been very critical of the military drills when it comes to Korea and the US forces using stealth fighters,” according to Woo Jung-yeop, research fellow at Sejong Institute. “Because the F-22 and F-35 have the capability to enter North Korean (DPRK) territory without being detected.”

There’s good reason why Pyongyang would not like these aircraft slipping under its radar. The aircraft participating in the exercises are simulating the destruction of the DPRK’s nuclear and missile facilities, as well as mobile rocket launchers.

While these drills are annual, this year’s are the biggest ever.

Some analysts said that’s not a coincidence.

US Air Force Senior Airmen Hamlin Burch and Jacob Wiemers, 25th Fighter Squadron weapons load crew members, remove a weapon system from an A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft during exercise Vigilant Ace 18 at Osan Air Base, the Republic of Korea, Dec. 2, 2017. /US Air Force photo

“The largest joint air force exercise ever can be seen as a way of putting pressure on North Korea (DPRK) and showing a military demonstration to stop any further actions from North Korea (DPRK), such as a seventh nuclear test or ICBM tests,” Kim Yong-hyun of the Dongguk University Graduate School said.

But very few believe these, or other war games, will halt Kim Jong Un’s quest to build a functioning nuclear-tipped rocket. The drills follow the DPRK's successful test of an intercontinental ballistic missile – a weapon that most analysts believe could reach the mainland United States.

A F-15 from Kadena Air Base, Japan, lands at Gwangju Air Base, the Republic of Korea, Dec. 01, 2017. The aircraft arrived to Gwangju to participate in Vigilant Ace-18, a routine exercise on interoperability. /US Air Force photo‍

There is also little hope that either the US or DPRK will accept China’s proposal of halting war games in return for a halt to Pyongyang’s weapons program, a policy known as "freeze for freeze."

“If ‘freeze for freeze’ is going to work, then North Korea (DPRK) has to accept the verification process,” Woo said. “If North Korea (DPRK) is not going to accept it, then the US is not going to accept it.”