After repeated North Korean threats and advances foreshadowing warfare, countries have met and agreed to increase efforts to protect the Korean Peninsula. The United States, South Korea, and Japan all have signed off to conduct more advanced drills in preparation of a North Korean air strike. They are aiming to launch coordinated counterattacks from Pyongyang. Those who met recently to discuss defense were the US Secretary of Defence James Mattis, Japanese Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera and South Korean Minister of National Defense Song Young-moo. They decided on this during the ASEAN conference in the Philippines. Along with increases in defense, the agreement aims to help the communication of information garnering the status of North Korean threats. The US and its East Asian allies reaffirmed that they will continue to take necessary measures to deter North Korea and leader Kim Jong-un.
About a month ago, the US launched a couple B-1 Air Force Lancer Bombers as a show of power. They were launched over the Korean Peninsula, collected, carried through South Korean waters, and the drill was repeated as said by military authorities. The second series was accompanied by a pair of South Korean F-15K fighters after abandoning their base in Guam. The Japanese were rumored to have entered the series of drills, making it the firsttime they ran through with the three of them. The Chinese and the Russians support these drills and sanctions on North Korea, despite earlier calls for scaling back military sanctions on the area. Both China nor Russia was mentioned in the defense discussions.