The South Korean military said the exercise involved US B-1B bombers, South Korean F-15K and KF-16 fighters, and Japanese F-2 fighters, according to AFP.

"The exercise demonstrates the commitment of the ROK-US alliance to strengthen extended deterrence to respond to the growing nuclear and missile threats from North Korea," the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff stressed in a press release.

In the new drill, South Korean and Japanese fighter jets escorted US strategic bombers to a designated location south of the Korean peninsula, "demonstrating overwhelming capabilities in rapidly and accurately attacking simulated targets," AFP quoted a press release as saying.

The South Korean military added that this was the fourth time this year that B-1B bombers had been deployed to the Korean peninsula and the second time that the three-way air exercise was aimed at countering "military threats" from the DPRK.

There was no immediate word on North Korea's response. The drills came three days after Pyongyang launched one of its most advanced solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), which experts say could reach targets in the US mainland, AFP reported.

KCNA news agency hailed it as "the world's most powerful strategic rocket" and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un "expressed great satisfaction" over the successful ICBM launch.