just tverify. reporter: here at osan, they have been preparing for war for six decades. this is the closest airbase to north korea. if war breaks out, it will be a key launchpad for power and obvious target for incoming fire from the north. i joined captain kyle moses, aka, the beast. on a mission to one of the most dangerous spots on the planet. watch your elbows. canopy is coming down. reporter: the demilitarized zone that separate north and south korea. north korea has been threatening to shoot planes out of the sky, even a routine mission is dangerous now. visor down, seat is armed. here with ege go. reporter: and it doesn t take long for captain moses to
os osan. another routine patrol ending, thankfully without incident. the pace here is relentless, captain moses 36th squaw dron flies f-16s. the home has u2 spy planes, keeping a constant watch on the enemy no the north. for months now the u.s. military has been quietly beefing up its presence in the region and we have been following every step. in august, joint drills with the south koreans suddenly took on a whole new urgency. the enemy is left unnamed, but it s clear which battle they were rehearsing for. in september, we watched as american troops moved a battery of thad missiles, the most advanced missiles in the world into position. missile defense systems aren t just about defense. they different those who have them the ability to attack and survive a counterattack. and while the thad has not yet
here. reporter: so this is as far as you can go without provoking a war? yep. reporter: looking at the wing man, behind him, north korea? over those mountain there is, you can see north korea there. reporter: so is that where all their artillery is and rockets? oh yeah. reporter: captain moses, aka the beast. how to attack north korean targets and evade their fire. it was hard not to pass out. it s also hard to deny that the u.s. is increasingly ready for war. even if it says it doesn t want one. the highest concentration of naval power has come together here in years. in the pacific, three aircraft carrier strike groups. add to that about 32,000 u.s. troops in south korea. reinforced missile defense systems. and more f-35 jets to the
escalations from north korea with ballistic missile tests and nuclear tests and ultimately hydrogen bomb tests, i think today we saw the full response from the united states. here in seoul speaking to parliament giving a very harsh speech telling north korea s leadership not to miscalculate the u.s. intentions. and president trump stressed that he s coming here backed up by a lot of fire power. to see first hand the front line of this long simmering conflict, we accompanied f-16 pilot captain kyle moses on a training mission to the north korean border. here we go. we shot up through the clouds vertically. the distance between south and north korea is very short. at just shy of the speed of sound, we were there in minutes. we re about seven miles from the north korean border right
yeah. as we reach the front lines, captain moses positions his f-16 very carefully. so this is about the north edge of the air space, we re about seven miles from the north korean border right here. so this is as far as you can go without provoking a war? yep. now, can we look into north korea? oh, yeah. over those mountains there, you can see into north korea there. so is that where all their artillery is and all those rockets? oh, yeah. if you were called into aggressive action, would that be possibly a target? yes, that could definitely be something we could go after. we head back to osan. another routine patrol ending, thankfully, without incident. the pace here is relentless. captain moses s 36 squadron flies f-16s, but the base is also home modernized u-2 planes