“The B-1 units bring a unique perspective and years of repeated combat and operational experience from the Central Command theater to the Pacific”, said the August statement from Pacific Air Forces headquarters in Hawaii.
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Meanwhile, the U.S. official said Washington will make best efforts to take strong actions as rapidly as possible through the United Nations, noting that the U.S., South Korea and Japan will consider additional measures toward the DPRK separately.
North Korea’s anxious neighbors, South Korea and Japan, have been calling for a stronger response, Elise says.
As a show of diplomacy, North Korea’s US envoy, Sung Kim, said that Pyongyang’s fifth bomb test is resulting in “additional unilateral measures”, including possible future shows of force from Japan. “We stand resolutely with South Korea and Japan to honor our unshakable alliance commitments and to safeguard security and stability”.
South Korea said Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se and his counterparts Kerry and Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida will meet during the annual U.N. General Assembly to discuss putting further pressure on North Korea.
“North Korea’s nuclear test is a risky escalation and poses an unacceptable threat”, said the general, adding the USA has an “unshakable commitment” to defend allies in the region.
“A lot of North Korean military commanders find USA bombers especially threatening, given the destruction here in Pyongyang during the Korean War, when much of the city was flattened”. They also say its usefulness against the North’s military threats is doubtful.
News of the natural disaster came as North Korea looked even more isolated from its neighbors and the wider world after its fifth nuclear test last Friday.
“China’s stand is very clear, that is, under the current situation, (we) hope all sides should stay rational and restrained, not irritating each other or take any action that will lead to spiral escalations of tension in this region”.
China has been infuriated by “freedom of navigation” patrols conducted by the United States in the South China Sea, where China is locked in disputes with several Southeast Asian nations. Officials there argue that the system’s radar can detect Chinese missiles on the mainland, undermining its nuclear deterrent.
North Korea countered Wednesday that it was the U.S. that was inflaming tensions.
Their intention was “to secure the strongest possible resolution that includes new sanctions as quickly as possible”, Sung Kim said, declining to elaborate on how China, the North’s main ally on the Security Council, would respond.
“They are bluffing that B-1Bs are enough for fighting an all-out nuclear war”. He said China agrees that the worldwide community should take sterner measures against the North by adopting new United Nations sanctions against the regime.
After North Korea’s fourth nuclear test on January 6, China even allowed it to export coal, iron ores and other minerals “for the livelihoods and welfare of North Koreans”.
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“The U.S. also reaffirmed its long-standing policy that any attack on the United States or our allies will be defeated, and any use of nuclear weapons will be met with a response that would be effective and overwhelming”, according to a statement released by South Korea’s Defense Ministry.
