Two U.S. supersonic bombers flew over the Korean Peninsula for
bombing exercises that are also a show of force against North Korea
ahead of President Donald Trump's first official visit to Asia.
A South Korean military official said Friday the B-1B bombers based
in Guam were escorted by two South Korean F-16 fighter jets during the
drills Thursday at a field near the South's eastern coast. The drills
simulated attacks on land targets, but didn't involve live weapons, said
the official, who did not want to be named, citing office rules.
North Korea's state media denounced the exercise as a "surprise nuclear strike drill" and says "gangster-like U.S. imperialists" are seeking to ignite a nuclear war.
The North Korean nuclear threat will likely overshadow Trump's trip
to Asia, which starts Sunday in Japan and will include stops in South
Korea, China, Vietnam and the Philippines.
In recent months, North Korea has tested intercontinental ballistic
missiles that could reach the U.S. mainland with further development
and has conducted its most powerful nuclear test. It also flew powerful
new midrange missiles over Japan and threatened to launch them toward
Guam, the U.S. Pacific territory and military hub.
The United States has responded by sending its strategic assets to
the region more frequently for patrols or drills. That has angered North
Korea, whose foreign minister said in September the North had "every right"
to take countermeasures, including shooting down the U.S. warplanes,
though many experts doubt it has the actual intent or ability to do so.
Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency said Friday that the "U.S. imperialist warmongers" should not act rashly.
"The U.S. imperialists are making last-ditch efforts to check
the dynamic advance of the DPRK by deploying their nuclear strategic
assets in succession, but its army and people are never frightened at
such moves," the report said, referring to North Korea's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
-AP
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