Yun dismissed repeated North Korean calls for the US and South Korea to scrap annual military exercises, which it describes as a preparation for invasion.
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Two US supersonic bombers have flown over South Korea in a show of force the US said was aimed at reminding Pyongyang of its powerful military assets in the region.
But officials told CNN that North Korea isn’t the main motivator for the training. Those, combined with an uptick in missile tests this year, have raised fears that Pyongyang is making faster-than-expected progress toward its stated goal of developing a nuclear-tipped missile that could reach the US mainland.
The United States landed a B-1B Lancer in South Korea for the first time in 20 years Wednesday, labeling it the “closest flight ever to North Korea” by the supersonic bomber.
The US Air Force said the military action today was a demonstration of force and will to preserve security in the region.
The front page of the North’s Rodong Sinmun showed a picture of a long flame bursting from an engine propped up by a cement structure; another photo showed Kim watching the test and a separate picture showed him laughing excitedly.
Washington is also working with Seoul to install a missile defense system known as THAAD in South Korea, though the move has infuriated Beijing, which says the hardware poses a significant threat to regional security.
As for the upcoming mock attack, CNN reports it will happen next month.
North Korea has been testing nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles at an unprecedented rate this year. About 28,500 US troops are stationed in South Korea, a legacy of the 1950-53 Korean War which ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty. “By one estimate, this amount would have been nearly enough to both fund North Korea’s uranium enrichment facilities, and to design, make and test its nuclear weapons”, the report said.
However, Pyongyang said the intended display of military might was no more than a “bluff” and a “laughing stock” for the whole world.
The North was already slapped with the toughest United Nations sanctions in two decades following its fourth nuclear test in January. Strengthened sanctions on Pyongyang haven’t discouraged Kim Jong Un from building up a nuclear program.
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He cited an increase in defections of members of the North Korean elite who were willing to risk imprisonment or execution to escape the country for South Korea as they see no future living in the North.
