U.S. F-35 fighters arrive in South Korea as joint military drills ramp up

FILE PHOTO: U.S. Air Force F-35A aircraft, from the 388th and 428th Fighter Wings, form up in an "elephant walk" during an exercise at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, U.S. January 6, 2020. U.S. Air Force/R. Nial Bradshaw/Handout via REUTERS/Files

U.S. Air Force F-35A stealth fighters arrived in South Korea on Tuesday on their first publicly announced visit since 2017 as the allies and nuclear-armed North Korean engage in an escalating cycle of displays of weapons.

Joint military drills had been publicly scaled back in recent years, first in 2018 because of efforts to engage diplomatically with North Korea and later because of the COVID-19 pandemic.