President-elect Yoon's Joint US-ROK Air Force Exercise the Day Before

The Air Force has conducted the 'Max Thunder Exercise,' the largest joint exercise between Korea and the United States, but it is currently being conducted on a reduced scale.

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] The South Korean and U.S. Air Forces will conduct a joint air exercise the day before President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol's inauguration. This exercise replaces the previously conducted 'Max Thunder' and has been renamed 'Korea Flying Training' (KFT) for this year.

According to the military on the 3rd, the U.S. 7th Air Force assets are also expected to participate in this two-week joint air exercise starting from the 9th.

The exercise is scheduled to begin one day before President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol's inauguration on the 10th, drawing attention. It appears to serve as a warning against potential provocations from North Korea amid South Korea's regime change period.

Meanwhile, the South Korea-U.S. navies will conduct an anti-submarine maritime search exercise (SHAREM) in the East Sea area for four days starting the same day. The exercise reportedly involves five South Korean surface ships including destroyers (DDH-II), three aircraft, two ocean survey vessels, and the U.S. Aegis destroyer USS Sampson (approximately 9,300 tons), along with one aircraft.