By Darren Boyle for MailOnline
13:37 10 Jan 2016, updated 20:27 10 Jan 2016
13:37 10 Jan 2016, updated 20:27 10 Jan 2016
The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress flew from its base in Guam to over fly Osan Air Base just 45 miles from North Korea
The B-52 can carry 31,500kg of bombs and missiles and is capable of carrying a range of nuclear weapons
The US sent a heavy bomber which is capable of carrying nuclear missiles in a show of force just 45 miles from North Korea in response to Kim Jong-un’s underground H-bomb test on Wednesday.
The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress conducted a low fly pass of Osan Air Base, just south of the border. The heavy bomber, which is capable of carrying nuclear missiles and bombs, was accompanied by a pair of South Korean air force F-15s and two US air force F-16s.
North Korea announced on Wednesday that it had conducted its first ever hydrogen bomb test. The test caused massive international controversy and was condemned by the United Nations, while at the same time increasing tension with South Korea.
The B52 conducted a low-level flight before heading back to Andersen Air Base in Guam, where it is stationed.
The 4,000-mile round trip mission was conducted ‘in response to recent provocative action by North Korea’, US Forces Korea said in a statement.
The B-52 was accompanied by two South Korean Air Force F-15s and a pair of US Air Force F-16s as the massive bomber was just four minutes’ flight time from the North Korean border.
The aircraft are known to have taken part in joint annual US-South Korea military exercises that have enraged Pyongyang, but their flights over South Korea are rarely publicised.
The last time such a flight was made public was in 2013, after North Korea carried out its third nuclear test.
At that time, the US dispatched both a B-52 and the more sophisticated B-2 stealth bomber to South Korea in a show of military muscle against the North.
On Sunday, Pyongyang state media called for the establishment of a peace accord to stabilise the Korean Peninsula and described the nation’s nuclear arsenal as a ‘treasured sword’ that defends the country’s sovereignty.
The two Koreas remain in a technical state of war because the 1950-53 war ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty.
‘Gone are days never to return when the U.S. could threaten the DPRK with nuclear weapons,’ said ruling party newspaper Rodong Sinmun.
Wednesday’s nuclear test was Pyongyang’s fourth, though experts have questioned North Korea’s claim of the explosion having been triggered by a hydrogen bomb.
On Friday, the North’s state broadcaster also released video footage of a submarine-launched ballistic missile test, though South Korean media have suggested the footage was an edited compilation of a previous test.
B-52s were heavily involved in the wars in Vietnam and Iraq. They were also used in Yugoslavia and against the Taliban in Afghanistan.
Lieutenant General Terrence J. O’Shaughnessy, commander of the US 7th Air Force and Deputy Commander of the US Forces Korea, said on Sunday that the United States maintained an ‘ironclad’ commitment to the defence of South Korea.
This commitment includes ‘extended deterrence provided by our conventional forces and our nuclear umbrella’, he said in a statement.
‘B52 missions reinforce the US commitment to the security of our allies and partners, and demonstrate one of the many alliance capabilities available for the defence’ of South Korea, he said.
‘As demonstrated by today’s mission, the combined US and Republic of Korea air forces work and train together closely every day, and we are totally prepared to meet any threat to our alliance.’
The annual US-South Korea joint military exercises regularly spark angry reactions from North Korea, which brands them ‘nuclear war drills’ against it.
Key Resolve/Foal Eagle, one of the annual joint exercises, is expected to take place in March.
South Korea hosts 28,000 US troops as the two Koreas technically remain at war because the Korean War of 1950-53 ended in an armistice instead of a peace treaty.
Sunday’s show of force came as Kim Jong-Un claimed the nuclear test was carried out in self-defence, to prevent a nuclear war with the United States.
In his first public remarks since the explosion, Kim said the test was ‘a self-defensive step for reliably defending the peace on the Korean Peninsula and the regional security from the danger of nuclear war caused by the US-led imperialists’.
‘It is the legitimate right of a sovereign state and a fair action that nobody can criticise,’ he added, according to the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
The North regularly accuses the US and its ally South Korea of warmongering.
An official commentary published by KCNA late Friday also cited toppled leaders Saddam Hussein of Iraq and Colonel Gaddafi of Libya as examples of what happens when countries forsake their nuclear ambitions.
