The U.S., South Korea, and Japan altered the route of a scheduled flight of several B-52 bombers so that they would not fly over the Korean Peninsula, according to a report Friday.
The move followed warnings from Pyongyang that next month’s historic meeting between President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un could be in jeopardy due to “provocative military disturbances with South Korea.”
It’s uncertain if changing the planned flight was a result of North Korea’s threat, but officials said that the shift was an attempt to mitigate accusations that the U.S. was participating in “provocative” activities, CNN reports.
The Pentagon did not provide details to CNN, and officials maintain the joint exercises are not military exercises.
“We continue to coordinate with our allies but for operational security reasons, we cannot comment on future or ongoing operations,” Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Christopher Logan said. “This would include our decision-making process.”
He added that “continuous Bomber presence missions are part of a routine, forward, deployed, deterrence capability supporting regional security and our allies in the Indo-Pacific region.”
The nuclear-capable aircraft participated in the exercises this week, but did not encroach on South Korean airspace.
Earlier this week, the State Department said the military exercises would continue and that Kim was fully aware of the training sessions previously.
“Kim Jong Un had said previously that he understood the need and the utility of the United States and the Republic of Korea continuing in its joint exercises,” State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said Tuesday.
“They’re exercises that are legal; they’re planned well, well in advance. We have not heard anything from that government or the government of South Korea to indicate that we would not continue conducting these exercises or that we would not continue planning for our meeting between President Trump and Kim Jong Un next month,” she added.
