South Korean F-15Ks and USAF F-16 jets fly in response to North Korea's IRBM launch on 4 October 2022. The F-15s subsequently bombed an uninhabited South Korean island 50 km west of the mainland. This appears to have partly prompted a larger bombing exercise by North Korea on an undisclosed islet on 8 October. (South Korean Ministry of National Defense)

North Korea has conducted an unprecedented series of live-fire drills using warplanes. This includes what Pyongyang describes as one of its largest air combat exercises.

In a statement on 10 October, the North Korean state-owned Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said that air drills were conducted on 6 and 8 October. “The KPAF [Korean People's Air Force] on 8 October, carried out a large-scale combined air-attack drill during which more than 150 fighter planes of different missions took off simultaneously for the first time in history,” KCNA said.

This was preceded two days earlier on 6 October, by a flight of 12 KPAF warplanes north of the “inter-Korean air boundary”, according to South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). These warplanes potentially conducted a live-firing exercise, according to South Korean media.

South Korean F-15Ks and USAF F-16 jets fly in response to North Korea's IRBM launch on 4 October 2022. The F-15s subsequently bombed an uninhabited South Korean island 50 km west of the mainland. This appears to have partly prompted a larger bombing exercise by North Korea on an undisclosed islet on 8 October. (South Korean Ministry of National Defense)

North Korea has conducted an unprecedented series of live-fire drills using warplanes. This includes what Pyongyang describes as one of its largest air combat exercises.

In a statement on 10 October, the North Korean state-owned Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said that air drills were conducted on 6 and 8 October. “The KPAF [Korean People's Air Force] on 8 October, carried out a large-scale combined air-attack drill during which more than 150 fighter planes of different missions took off simultaneously for the first time in history,” KCNA said.

This was preceded two days earlier on 6 October, by a flight of 12 KPAF warplanes north of the “inter-Korean air boundary”, according to South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). These warplanes potentially conducted a live-firing exercise, according to South Korean media.

South Korean F-15Ks and USAF F-16 jets fly in response to North Korea's IRBM launch on 4 October 2022. The F-15s subsequently bombed an uninhabited South Korean island 50 km west of the mainland. This appears to have partly prompted a larger bombing exercise by North Korea on an undisclosed islet on 8 October. (South Korean Ministry of National Defense)

North Korea has conducted an unprecedented series of live-fire drills using warplanes. This includes what Pyongyang describes as one of its largest air combat exercises.

In a statement on 10 October, the North Korean state-owned Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said that air drills were conducted on 6 and 8 October. “The KPAF [Korean People's Air Force] on 8 October, carried out a large-scale combined air-attack drill during which more than 150 fighter planes of different missions took off simultaneously for the first time in history,” KCNA said.

This was preceded two days earlier on 6 October, by a flight of 12 KPAF warplanes north of the “inter-Korean air boundary”, according to South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). These warplanes potentially conducted a live-firing exercise, according to South Korean media.

South Korean F-15Ks and USAF F-16 jets fly in response to North Korea's IRBM launch on 4 October 2022. The F-15s subsequently bombed an uninhabited South Korean island 50 km west of the mainland. This appears to have partly prompted a larger bombing exercise by North Korea on an undisclosed islet on 8 October. (South Korean Ministry of National Defense)

North Korea has conducted an unprecedented series of live-fire drills using warplanes. This includes what Pyongyang describes as one of its largest air combat exercises.

In a statement on 10 October, the North Korean state-owned Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said that air drills were conducted on 6 and 8 October. “The KPAF [Korean People's Air Force] on 8 October, carried out a large-scale combined air-attack drill during which more than 150 fighter planes of different missions took off simultaneously for the first time in history,” KCNA said.

This was preceded two days earlier on 6 October, by a flight of 12 KPAF warplanes north of the “inter-Korean air boundary”, according to South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). These warplanes potentially conducted a live-firing exercise, according to South Korean media.

South Korean F-15Ks and USAF F-16 jets fly in response to North Korea's IRBM launch on 4 October 2022. The F-15s subsequently bombed an uninhabited South Korean island 50 km west of the mainland. This appears to have partly prompted a larger bombing exercise by North Korea on an undisclosed islet on 8 October. (South Korean Ministry of National Defense)

North Korea has conducted an unprecedented series of live-fire drills using warplanes. This includes what Pyongyang describes as one of its largest air combat exercises.

In a statement on 10 October, the North Korean state-owned Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said that air drills were conducted on 6 and 8 October. “The KPAF [Korean People's Air Force] on 8 October, carried out a large-scale combined air-attack drill during which more than 150 fighter planes of different missions took off simultaneously for the first time in history,” KCNA said.

This was preceded two days earlier on 6 October, by a flight of 12 KPAF warplanes north of the “inter-Korean air boundary”, according to South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). These warplanes potentially conducted a live-firing exercise, according to South Korean media.

South Korean F-15Ks and USAF F-16 jets fly in response to North Korea's IRBM launch on 4 October 2022. The F-15s subsequently bombed an uninhabited South Korean island 50 km west of the mainland. This appears to have partly prompted a larger bombing exercise by North Korea on an undisclosed islet on 8 October. (South Korean Ministry of National Defense)

North Korea has conducted an unprecedented series of live-fire drills using warplanes. This includes what Pyongyang describes as one of its largest air combat exercises.

In a statement on 10 October, the North Korean state-owned Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said that air drills were conducted on 6 and 8 October. “The KPAF [Korean People's Air Force] on 8 October, carried out a large-scale combined air-attack drill during which more than 150 fighter planes of different missions took off simultaneously for the first time in history,” KCNA said.

This was preceded two days earlier on 6 October, by a flight of 12 KPAF warplanes north of the “inter-Korean air boundary”, according to South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). These warplanes potentially conducted a live-firing exercise, according to South Korean media.