The United States Air Force has confirmed the flight of bombers over the Korean Peninsula has been suspended at the request of Seoul.
"U.S. bombers are no longer conducting flights over South Korea (ROK) after Seoul asked for such missions to be paused," said Pentagon-based General Charles Brown, commander of the U.S. Pacific Air Forces.
No U.S. bombers have flown over Korean Peninsula since December last year.
The U.S. F-35B stealth jet fighters dropping bombs at a bombing range in Gangwon Province, east of Seoul, during a joint military drill on September 18, 2017. /VCG Photo
The Republic of Korea's (ROK) military officials had previously denied rumors of the bomber mission suspension, including reports that the U.S. had excluded bombers from scaled down air drills back in May over Seoul's concerns such a move could raise tensions with Pyongyang.
According to Brown the government of President Moon Jae-in also requested the postponement of the Vigilant Ace joint U.S.-ROK war games scheduled for December.
In October Seoul initially claimed it was Washington that had requested the suspension.
The latest move comes amid deepening inter-Korean military cooperation, which has led to demining efforts in the Demilitarized Zone, the building and connection of a road straddling the Military Demarcation Line in the center of the DMZ as well as the demolition and removal of twenty military guard posts in the zone and the abandonment of two others that are being preserved for historical reasons.
A no-fly zone has also been established over and around the DMZ.
The ROK peace activists hold placards reading "Stop! Max Thunder," during a rally denouncing ROK-U.S. joint military drills, in front of the U.S. embassy in Seoul on May 16, 2018. /VCG Photo
Some analysts are concerned measures by the U.S. and particularly the ROK have been de-coupled from negotiations with Pyongyang.
“These are unilateral decisions not taken in the context of confidence-building measures or concessions by the north (DPRK). The KPA (Korean People's Army) will soon be doing their winter exercises so why not get something in exchange for that,” said Daniel Pinkston, a specialist in international relations at Troy University.
The ROK's government believes the measures are helping to build a foundation for the wider denuclearization diplomacy, which has stalled since the Singapore summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Democratic People's Republic of Korea's (DRPK) Chairman Kim Jong Un in June.
Disagreements over how to ensure the DPRK dismantles its nuclear missile programs between Seoul, which prefers condition-less engagement, and Washington, which wants concessions from Pyongyang first, led to them setting up a working group earlier this month in an attempt to bridge their disagreements.
A group of ROK soldiers returns to their barracks after completing a landing drill in the southeastern port city of Pohang as part of the ROK-U.S. joint military drill, April 5, 2018. /VCG Photo
Washington-based attorney Joshua Stanton, who helped draft key U.S. sanctions legislation targeting the DPRK was reported by VOA as saying getting “back on the same page” will require Washington and Seoul to “come to a common understanding of sanctions.”
“What worries me is that it could be the beginning of a process that undermines the armistice and its institutions like the United Nations Command and the security mechanisms that are in place,” said Daniel Pinkston.