The United States has vowed to use all available defense capabilities in emergency situations on the Korean Peninsula to defend South Korea, Yonhap news agency reported Monday, citing Seoul's defense ministry.

The pledge was made by the U.S. side during a joint annual discussion- based tabletop exercise (TTX) between Seoul and Washington that was held at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. It was the fifth drill between the two allies.

The tabletop exercise, launched in 2011, came amid rising tensions on the peninsula after the DPRK's fourth nuclear test on Jan. 6 and the subsequent long-range rocket launch on Feb. 7, which outsiders see as a banned test of ballistic missile technology.

The U.S. side allowed visiting South Korean military officials to observe the U.S. test launch of an unarmed Minuteman-3 nuclear missile that was conducted on Thursday in California.

U.S. officials also explained about the deployment process of U.S. B-52 long-range bombers on the Korean Peninsula in emergency situations and the U.S. capability of nuclear weapons.

One B-52 bomber flew over South Korea's airspace on Jan. 10, days after what Pyongyang claimed was its first H-bomb test.

Combined forces of South Korea and the United States are scheduled to kick off their joint annual war games in South Korea in early March through April, which the DPRK has denounced as a rehearsal for northward invasion.

The U.S. military reportedly plans to mobilize a nuclear-capable aircraft carrier and other strategic assets as part of a show of force toward the DPRK.

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