South Korea and the United Sates will hold a joint air force exercise from Friday to beef up their combined strategic capability, Seoul's defense ministry said Thursday.

Air forces of the two countries will stage the second round of "Max Thunder" drill for this year from Nov. 14 to 22 in Kunsan, about 150 km south of capital Seoul, Defense Ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok told a press briefing.

The first round of drill was conducted for two weeks in April, mobilizing the largest-ever 103 warplanes and about 1,400 soldiers. The exercise is held twice a year on the Korean Peninsula to simulate air battles with enemy forces through realistic training.

The second round will mobilize about 40 South Korean fighter jets, including F-15K, KF-16, F-4E, F-5, C-130 and E-737, along with some 50 U.S. warplanes, such as F-16, KC-135, FA-18 and AWACS, or an early warning aircraft.

About 1,200 soldiers are scheduled to participate in the air drill, an official at the defense ministry said by phone.

"Exercise Max Thunder is part of a continuous exercise program designed to enhance interoperability between U.S. and Republic of Korea forces, and is not tied to any specific real-world events or situations," an official at the U.S. Seventh Air Force said via email.

The air drill plan came after the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) slammed South Korea's ongoing military exercise, codenamed "Hokuk", on Wednesday.

South Korea's army, navy and air force kicked off the annual joint drill on Monday, which will run through Nov. 21. It involved the largest-ever 330,000 troops this year, more than quadrupling about 80,000 soldiers last year.

The Hoguk drill replaced the Team Spirit exercise between South Korea and the United States in 1996.

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