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.
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The U.S. Air Force is scheduled to hold its “Air Power Day” air show at Osan on Saturday and Sunday, for which it will open the base to tens of thousands of members of the public.
South Korea and the United States will conduct a mock attack on a nuclear facility next month, an official with the South Korean Defense Department told CNN. “The alliance grows stronger every day and we remain prepared to defend and to preserve the security of the Korean Peninsula and the region”, Lt. Gen. Thomas Bergeson, commander of the USA 7th Air Force in South Korea, said in a statement.
The bomber deployments are “just the first steps” in further strengthening the alliance with South Korea, USFK said in a statement.
On Sept 13, the USA military dispatched two B-1B bombers to South Korea, but all of them returned back to the Guam base right after flying low over the Osan base for about 10 minutes.
The US on Wednesday also announced that it conducted its second show of force operation in two weeks in South Korea to send North Korea a message.
North Korea has ignored global condemnation of its fifth nuclear test on September 9, and this week said it had successfully tested a new rocket engine that would be used to launch satellites, again in violation of United Nations sanctions.
US Forces Korea said in a statement the flight by the pair of strategic bombers was a show of force and of the US commitment to preserve the security of the peninsula and the region.
A day after that flyover, North Korea accused the United States of “bluffing” and “blustering” with the flyover and said such actions were inflaming tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
Some 28,500 US servicemembers are stationed in the South as the peninsula remains technically at war after the 1950-53 conflict ended in an armistice instead of a peace treaty.
North Korea is expected to launch a new long-range rocket at or around Oct 10 to mark the 71st anniversary of the founding of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea.
North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong Un, ordered preparations for the launch of a satellite “as soon as possible” on the basis of the successful test, its state media reported.
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Outsiders view North Korea’s space launches as a cover for banned ballistic missile tests as the country openly pursues long-range nuclear weapons.
