South Korea and the United States on Tuesday engaged in combined formation flying and precision-bombing drills in response to North Korea’s launch of an intermediate-range ballistic missile over Japan earlier in the day. 

According to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, four F-15K fighter jets of the South Korean Air Force and four U.S. F-15 units of its American counterpart flew in formations. 

A precision-bombing exercise involving F-15Ks was also staged in which the Korean jet fighters fired two Joint Direct Attack Munition(JDAM) bombs at a firing range on an uninhabited island of Jikdo in the West Sea. 

The JCS said the combined flight of the air strike package and precision strike drills demonstrated South Korea and the U.S.’s will to sternly respond to any North Korean threats and their capabilities to conduct a precision strike at the origin of provocations. 

The South Korean military, it added, also maintains firm readiness while observing related activities based on close coordination between the allies. 

Earlier in the day, the North launched its first IRBM over Japan since September of 2017 amid increased indications that its long-range ballistic missile launch and its seventh nuclear test may also be imminent.