OSAN AIR BASE, South Korea (AP) The United States on Tuesday sent two nuclear-capable supersonic bombers streaking over ally South Korea in a show of force meant to cow North Korea after its recent nuclear test and also to settle rattled nerves in the South.
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The bombers left Andersen Air Force Base in Guam and arrived at the South Korean base at 10:00 a.m.
The two Koreas remain technically at war after their 1950-53 conflict ended in a truce, not a peace treaty.
Needless to say, the nuclear threat from the North is a matter of life and death for us South Koreans. They also reiterated that the Seoul-Washington alliance has not wavered on its initial position that there is no need for a nuclear weapon in South Korea to defend against the North, and that it can be achieved through extended deterrence of the US.
South Korean opposition parties oppose the THAAD deployment, insisting it could escalate a regional arms race and hurt ties with China.
There is no doubt that the new United Nations actions should close the loopholes in the latest United Nations resolution against the North – implemented in March – and make sure China ceases its role as the provider of a lifeline to its impoverished neighbor and client state.
Speaking in Seoul on Tuesday, Sung Kim, the United States special representative on North Korea, said the USA remained open to authentic, meaningful dialogue with Pyongyang on ending its pursuit of nuclear weapons.
“As we have warned multiple times, if North Korea conducts a military provocation, they’ll be met at a firm response from us that will shake the very foundation of the regime”, said Lee.
Seoul, Washington and their allies subsequently have vowed to apply more pressure and sanctions on Pyongyang in the wake of its latest nuclear test, the second this year.
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Guam is a USA -controlled island territory in the western Pacific, some 1,550 miles (2,500 kilometers) east of the Philippines, and about 1,900 miles (3,000 kilometers) from the Korean Peninsula.
But a Seoul-based expert from Korea Defense and Security Forum said the bombers might meet their limits in penetrating Pyongyang’s bunker systems in a time of crisis.
The speculation about any new nuclear test by the North comes three days after it conducted its fifth atomic bomb explosion.
South Korea does not have nuclear weapons and relies on the U.S.
Both China and Russian Federation, the remaining veto powers, backed sanctions imposed in March following the North’s January nuclear test, but their apparent ambivalence about fresh sanctions cast doubt on the Security Council’s ability to quickly form a consensus.
North Korea is keenly aware of the US presence on the peninsula and of what it considers the USA nuclear threat. Six-nation negotiations aimed at dismantling North Korea’s nuclear program broke down in 2008.
The flight was watched by the commander of the 28,500 USA troops stationed in South Korea, General Vincent Brooks, and the South’s Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Lee Sun-jin.
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Washington’s special representative for North Korea policy, Sung Kim, said in Seoul on Tuesday that China must help the worldwide community close loopholes in sanctions against Pyongyang.
