Eight South Korean and US fighter jets practice bombing in show of force against North Korea
Four F-16 fighter jets from the United States Forces Korea and four South Korean F-15K combat jets joined the overhead combat drill
Defiance: The jets were spotted flying through South Korean skies
South Korean and US fighter jets were spotted sweeping through the skies of South Korea in a powerful show of force against North Korea's threat of military action.
Eight planes simulating bombing of enemy targets circled the skies as tensions mount between the North and South.
Four F-16 fighter jets from the United States Forces Korea and four South Korean F-15K combat jets joined the overhead combat drill, an official from South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said.
"It was a flight aimed to show off the military might of South Korea and U.S.' combined air force power," the official told South Korean news agency Yonhap news.
He added that the show could alarm North Korea and show them warmongering would not be tolerated.
The news comes as a South Korean official revealed more than
50 North Korean submarines – 70% of its entire fleet – have left their bases.
South Korean officials now fear the North is gearing up for combat as high-level talks to ease the threat of war continue.
A South Korean military official told reporters in the country: "70% of North Korea's submarines left their bases, and their locations are not confirmed.
"It's a very serious situation."
More than 50 submarines are thought to have left – the North is known to have around 70.
The official told
South Korean news agency Yonhap that the South is doing it best "to beef up the defence posture" with the help of US forces.
Six South Korean fighter jets, deployed to take part in the Red Flag Alaska exercise, returned home today ahead of schedule.
Top government officials from the North and South resumed their talks at the truce village of Panmunjom, inside the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ), with both sides on military alert.
The crisis erupted as
South Korea refused to silence giant loudspeakers – in defiance of a warning by the North.
Negotiations: Tense talks between North and South
The two countries have already put troops on war footing and fired conventional missiles into border areas as tension escalates between the rivals.
The talks involve Kim Kwan-jin, presidential national security director, and unification minister Hong Yong-pyo, from the South Korean side, and from the North, Hwang Pyong So, the top political officer for the Korean People's Army, and Kim Yang Gon, a senior official responsible for South Korean affairs.
Mr Hwang is considered by outside analysts to be North Korea's second most important official after supreme
leader Kim Jong-un.
Eight South Korean and US fighter jets practice bombing in show of force against North Korea - Mirror Online