Days after North Korea conducted its most powerful nuclear test yet, two US bombers flew over South Korea in a display of force – a warning to Pyongyang and reassurance to Seoul.
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The B-1B bombers, escorted by USA and South Korean jets, were seen by an Associated Press photographer as they flew over Osan Air Base, which is 120 kilometers (75 miles) from the border with North Korea, the world’s most heavily armed.
The B-1Bs were then escorted by South Korean and USA fighter jets in a low-altitude flight over Osan Air Base, which is 77 km (48 miles) from the Demilitarised Zone border with the North and about 40 km (25 miles) from the South’s capital Seoul.
This year #North Korea conducted ballistic and nuclear tests at an unprecedented rate, the latest event being the nuclear test on last Friday.
Lee was quoted by Yonhap as saying, “As we warned multiple times, if North Korea continues its aggressive behaviour and develops nuclear weapons, it will meet retaliatory actions that will shake the very foundation of the regime’s existence”. Such a behavior of the young Korean leader Kim Jong Un is just unacceptable.
This undated photo released by North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on July 21, 2016 shows a missile being fired during a drill by the North Korean army.
The detonation, the latest violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions, prompted President Barack Obama to promise consequences, including the pursuit of new sanctions against the already isolated nation.
North Korea on Friday carried out its fifth and most powerful atomic test, in which it reportedly detonated nuclear warheads that can be attached to its missiles.
“People have reason to doubt whether Washington is willing to make the effort to push the North Korea issue in the direction of a resolution”, the newspaper said on Wednesday (14 September).
Mr Kim said dialogue remains a viable option – if the North is ready to commit. “It’s important that it use its location, its history and its influence to further the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula – not the direction things have been going”.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying suggests Tuesday’s show of strength by the U.S. military is not helping the situation. It uses such flyovers and the United States military influence in the South in its propaganda as alleged proof of USA hostility that it claims as the reason it needs a nuclear bomb program.
Reports in South Korean media have cited military preparations to “level” Pyongyang should it launch an attack against Seoul.
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USPACOM added the B-1Bs subsequently conducted low-level flight with South Korean F-15 fighters and U.S. F-16 aircraft in Osan, South Korea.
