SEOUL, South Korea (Dispatches) — The United States flew a long-range B-1B bomber over the Korean Peninsula on Wednesday for its first precision-guided bombing drill with South Korea in seven years, the South’s military said.
The drill comes as tensions are rising over the North’s recent launches of  balloons toward South Korea.
Wednesday’s training involved other advanced U.S. and South Korean fighter jets as well as the B-1B aircraft, the second U.S. bomber temporarily deployed over the Korean Peninsula this year.
During the training, the B-1B dropped Joint Direct Attack Munitions while being escorted by South Korean jets, the first such bombing drill for a U.S. bomber since 2017, a ministry statement said.
It said South Korean fighter jets also conducted live-firing exercises to demonstrate the country’s readiness, it said.
JDAM bombs include “bunker-busters.” JDAM is a guidance system that converts unguided, conventional bombs into more precise, GPS-guided weapons. All U.S. fighter jets, bombers and drones can use JDAMs, and the munitions are among the weapons systems the United States has been providing to Ukraine.
Escalating tensions on the Korean Peninsula have surged in the past few months due to the heightened pace of North Korea’s weapons testing and South Korea’s joint military drills with the United States and Japan, creating a cycle of retaliation.