South Korea and the United States on Saturday staged a joint air drill involving U.S. B-1B Lancer strategic bombers in a show of force a day after the launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) by North Korea.

Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said that the allies conducted the joint drill involving four South Korean Air Force F-35A fighter jets and four F-16 U.S. Air Force fighters.

The fighters reportedly flew in a combined formation escorting two U.S. B-1B supersonic bombers entering South Korea's air defense identification zone.

The supersonic bombers were dispatched to the Korean Peninsula again 14 days after they joined the allies' Vigilant Storm air exercise.

The JCS said that the latest drill has once again demonstrated the combined defense readiness postures and capacity of the South Korea-U.S. alliance and Washington's ironclad commitment to protecting the Korean Peninsula and providing extended deterrence.

The swift deployment of B-1B bombers a day after the North's ICBM launch can be seen as the U.S. implementation of its pledge to constantly deploy U.S. strategic assets on the peninsula that will equate to a more permanent presence to respond to North Korean provocations.