File photo.

Washington (People's Daily) - In a bid to deter nuclear muscle-flexing North Korea, the US and South Korea will hold a massive military exercise on the Korean Peninsula between December 4 and 8.

Called  “Vigilant Ace”, the military drill, which will focus on enemy infiltration and precision airstrikes, will involve a total of 12,000 US personnel from the Air Force, Marines and Navy, and 230 US and South Korean aircraft, a US defense official told The Wall Street Journal.  

Six F-22 Raptor stealth fighters — among the world's most advanced warplanes — will be sent to South Korea for the first time for the drill, a US Air Force spokesman told AFP.

The five-day annual exercise comes amid US President Donald Trump’s call for a "maximum pressure campaign" against Pyongyang over its rogue nuclear program.