North Korea conducted its fifth nuclear test on September 9, raising concerns that it was moving closer to its goal of a nuclear-armed missile that could one day strike the United States mainland.
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“The aircraft is capable of carrying the largest payload of both guided and unguided weapons in the Air Force inventory”, the release said. In response to a spate of military provocations by the North, the South Korean military recently unveiled an operation plan titled “Korea Massive Punishment & Retaliation (KMPR)”, in which the military vows to directly target the North Korean military and political leadership, most importantly North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, in the event of a nuclear attack by the North.
The statement came just days after the United States said it had deployed nuclear-capable strategic bombers on the island of Guam.
To the Korean Peninsula now and the United States air force conducted a second flyover of South Korea on Wednesday.
The B-1B does not now carry nuclear weapons, and some do not consider it nuclear capable in its current configuration. But it said the North’s campaign to separate plutonium at the Yongbyon nuclear site may be finished.
“The U.S.is trying to calm South Korean nerves, to deter the North Koreans – and not raise tensions with China”, Graham said.
In July, Seoul announced it would be deploying advanced Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-missile systems from the US.
An American strategic bomber landed in South Korea on Wednesday in a show of force the USA said was aimed at reminding Pyongyang of its powerful military assets in the region. China also banned sales of jet fuel to North Korea, though it said civilian aircraft would be allowed to refuel on flights to China. In the first deployment of two B-1B bombers to South Korea last Tuesday, neither touched South Korean soil.
Washington, meanwhile, has pressed Beijing, Pyongyang’s most important diplomatic backer and trading partner, to do more to rein in the country.
Beijing has always been North Korea’s main source of aid and diplomatic support but President Xi Jinping’s government is showing growing frustration with Pyongyang’s pursuit of nuclear weapons in defiance of foreign pressure.
Security Council resolutions prohibit nuclear weapons development by North Korea and all ballistic missile activity.
The Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture-based USS Ronald Reagan was reportedly scheduled to participate in a joint naval exercise with the South Korean military from October 10 to 15.
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North Korea this month fired three missiles that flew about 1,000 km (600 miles), and in August tested a submarine-launched ballistic missile that experts said showed considerable progress.
