The South Korean military announced the deployment of stealth fighters after monitoring the movement of 180 North Korean warplanes, in a new episode of high tension on the Korean Peninsula, where Seoul and Washington are conducting joint air exercises that angered Pyongyang.

According to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of South Korea, the North Korean warplanes flew in various airspaces in the territory of the northern part of the tactical line of action, and the east and west waters of the Korean Peninsula.

The South Korean Air Force has deployed about 80 distinguished warplanes, including the F-35A “stealth” Stealth, according to the South Korean Yonhap News Agency.

And 240 warplanes participating in the “Vigilat Stum” maneuvers between South Korea and the United States maintained a state of alert with their participation in the scheduled maneuvers.

South Korea announced earlier yesterday that North Korea fired missiles along the disputed maritime border between the two countries off the eastern coast of the Korean Peninsula.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff in Seoul said about 80 artillery shells were fired into the buffer zone in the Sea of ​​Japan, also known as the East Sea, late Thursday.

For his part, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier condemned North Korea’s recent missile tests during an official visit to South Korea, calling on Pyongyang to stop the launches immediately.

“Since the beginning of this year, an unprecedented series of tests has been observed, and Thursday’s missile launches have dramatically exacerbated the situation again,” Steinmeier said, after talks with his South Korean counterpart Yoon Suk Yeol in the capital, Seoul.

Steinmeier added that North Korea’s recent missile tests “violate UN Security Council resolutions and endanger international security.”

Meanwhile, South Korea, the United States and Japan discussed holding a possible tripartite summit in mid-November, on the sidelines of international gatherings in Southeast Asia, to show their solidarity and support for deterrence against North Korea.

US assails China, Russia on North Korea after missile barrage

The United States on Friday assailed China and Russia at the UN Security Council for having "enabled" North Korea, which has launched a record-breaking blitz of missile tests.

North Korea has also mobilized warplanes, leading Seoul to scramble its own stealth jets, in fury over the largest-ever military drills between the United States and Seoul -- which have been extended through Saturday.

At the United Nations, US envoy Linda Thomas-Greenfield denounced -- without naming them -- China and Russia, which in May vetoed a US-led effort to tighten sanctions on North Korea in response to earlier launches.

The North, formally known as the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, "has enjoyed blanket protection from two members of this council," she told an emergency Council session.

"These members have bent over backwards to justify the DPRK's repeated violations and in turn they have enabled the DPRK and made a mockery of this council," Thomas-Greenfield said, urging "unity" on enforcing sanctions.

She dismissed criticism of the military exercises as "DPRK propaganda," saying the drills "pose no threat" to other countries, and reiterated that President Joe Biden's administration was open to dialogue.

France's envoy, Nicolas de Riviere, called for continued pressure over signs that North Korea is preparing for its seventh-ever nuclear test.

"The current escalation is unprecedented and these new provocations are unacceptable," he said.

But China, North Korea's closest ally, and Russia, whose relations with the West have severely deteriorated over its invasion of Ukraine, placed the blame on the United States.

Chinese Ambassador Zhang Jun pointed to the US-South Korean military exercises and the Pentagon's recent warning in a strategy document that a nuclear attack by North Korea would mean an "end" to Kim Jong Un's regime.

"The DPRK's recent launches and activities did not happen in isolation; they are directly linked to the words and deeds of relevant parties," he said.

The Chinese envoy called on the United States to address "the legitimate and reasonable concerns of the DPRK so as to create conditions for the resumption of meaningful dialogue."

The 10 non-permanent members of the Security Council, which include India, Brazil and Mexico, in a joint statement also condemned the missile launches and urged Pyongyang to refrain from further tests.

The meeting ended without a joint statement from the whole Security Council.

With inputs from AFP.