The US said two nuclear-capable B-2 stealth bombers flew “deterrence” missions over South Korea on Thursday, defying apocalyptic threats of retribution from North Korea against ongoing war games.
The deployment of the stealth bombers was clearly meant to deliver a potent message to Pyongyang about the US commitment to defending South Korea against any aggression as military tensions on the Korean peninsula soar.
It came shortly after the North severed its last-remaining military hotline with South Korea and put its rocket units on combat status with a threat to target US bases in the Pacific region.
The two B-2s, from Whiteman Air Force base in Missouri, flew the 20,800 km round-trip in a “single continuous mission”, dropping dummy ordnance on a target range in the South, the US military said in a statement.
“This ... demonstrates the United States’ ability to conduct long-range, precision strikes quickly and at will,” the statement said.
The bombers were participating in South Korean-US military exercises that have incensed North Korea, which has threatened to unleash a second Korean War and launch pre-emptive nuclear strikes on South Korea and the US mainland.
“The B-2 bomber is an important element of America’s enduring and robust extended deterrence capability,” the US statement said.