North Korea: US supersonic bombers fly over South Korea after Pyongyang nuclear tests
A pair of B-1B Lancer bombers soar over Wyoming with hills, clouds in background.
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.
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.
Television footage showed two supersonic B-1B Lancers flying low over the US Osan Air Base at Pyeongtaek, 64 kilometres south of capital Seoul.
One of the aircraft flew back to the Andersen Air Force Base in Guam, while the other landed at Osan, Yonhap news agency said.
The move comes a day after North Korea claimed it had successfully tested a new, high-powered rocket engine which the South said was designed to demonstrate progress towards attaining a long-range missile.
It is the second such flight since North Korea's fifth nuclear test on September 9.
On September 13 two B-1 bombers were escorted by US and South Korean fighter jets in a show of solidarity with Seoul.
The US Air Force said the Wednesday flight was the closest ever to North Korea by a B-1 bomber.
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.
"What we are showing today is just one tool we have to choose from a wide array of options," said Lieutenant General Thomas W Bergeson of the US Air Force.
"The alliance grows stronger every day and we remain prepared to defend and to preserve the security of the Korean Peninsula and the region.
South Korea is home to around 28,500 US troops and numerous bases.
The B-1 Lancer is a four-engine strategic bomber that can reach speeds of Mach 2.
It is capable of carrying the largest payload of both guided and unguided weapons in the US Air Force inventory.
North Korea conducts a submarine-fired ballistic missile test
Photo North Korea's fifth nuclear test on September 9 was reportedly its most powerful.
Photo North Korea's fifth nuclear test on September 9 was reportedly its most powerful.
Rodong Sinmun
"It can rapidly deliver massive quantities of precision and non-precision weapons against any adversary, anywhere in the world, at any time," US Forces Korea said in a press statement.
"It can rapidly deliver massive quantities of precision and non-precision weapons against any adversary, anywhere in the world, at any time," US Forces Korea said in a press statement.
North Korea had condemned the September 13 flight as an armed provocation that mobilised "ill-famed nuclear killing tools".
It did not immediately respond to Wednesday's flight.
Reuters/AFP
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