U.S. Forces Korea Commander Vincent Brooks said their flight from Guam demonstrates the U.S.’ “steadfast and unshakable” commitment to its key ally in the wake of North Korea’s nuclear test.
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South Korea, Japan and the US requested the United Nations Security Council launch discussions on the North right after the communist nation conducted the nuclear detonation on its founding anniversary, just eight months after its fourth test in January.
But bad weather Monday also delayed a United States plan for at least 24 hours to send warplanes from Guam to South Korea, as it has done in the past after major provocations by North Korea.
The two bombers conducted a low-altitude flight over an air base located some 77km (48 miles) from the border between the two Koreas.
A US Air Force B-1B bomber flies over Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, September 13, 2016.
South Korea does not have nuclear weapons and relies on the U.S.
On Friday morning local time, North Korea conducted its fifth nuclear test – the second such test this year.
Such flyovers are fairly common when animosity rises on the Korean Peninsula, which is technically in a state of war because there has never been a peace treaty to officially end the 1950-53 Korean War.
“We are, of course, working very closely with the UNSC and our six-party partners and broader global community to ensure full implementation of the UNSC Resolution 2270 and other existing resolutions and to take additional significant steps including new sanctions to demonstrate to North Korea that there indeed are serious consequences for its unlawful and unsafe actions”, he added. Videos of such flyovers appear in North Korean propaganda as evidence of USA hostility, the AP notes.
Six-nation diplomatic talks aimed at ridding the North of its bombs have been stalled since the last round of meetings in late 2008.
After the test, the North’s nuclear weapons institute said it will take unspecified measures to further boost its nuclear capability, which analysts said hinted at a possible sixth nuclear test.
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The cancellation raised fears that the much-vaunted US nuclear umbrella might not open if it rains in an emergency. Following the nuclear test last week, she said that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s “mental state is spiraling out of control” and that his government shows “fanatic recklessness”.
