US B-52 returns to Guam after S. Korea fly-over

The U.S. military’s Pacific Command says in a statement that the bomber was joined by South Korean F-15 and U.S. F-16 fighters in the fly-over show of force.

The U.S. sent a long-range bomber over South Korea in 2013, shortly after the North carried out its third nuclear test.

The conversation stamped the cooperation between the United States and South Korea so that the United Nations Security Council could “swiftly adopt a stern resolution” that would subject North Korea to stiff sanctions because of its “latest reckless behavior”.

The bomber transferred from the United States military base of Guam in the Pacific Ocean and entered the South Korean airspace in the area of Osan in the Gyeonggi Province.

The flight was orchestrated three days after an apparent underground nuclear test spawned a 5.1-magnitude quake that rippled through North and South Korea.

There has been no response yet from North Korea to the B-52’s flight.

South Korea had previously blared criticisms of the North Korean regime – in addition to radio soap operas and K-pop music – after a land mine planted by the North maimed two South Korean soldiers in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) in August.

But South Korean media said the images of a rocket rising through the clouds were in fact taken from footage of a SCUD missile test broadcast in 2014.

“It is the legitimate right of a sovereign state and a fair action that nobody can criticise”, KCNA news agency quoted Kim as telling the military officers.

“The flight today demonstrates the strength and capabilities of the Alliance”, said Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti, the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) commander.

A US official has told ABC News that the yield from the North Korean test is believed to be in the single digits, much smaller than the yield that would have been produced by a hydrogen bomb.

“We know that responding in this way is simply rising to the bait that North Korea is presenting to us”, he said, referring to Seoul’s retaliatory action.

The United States has said it has no nuclear weapons stationed in South Korea.

The U.S. and South Korean militaries are reportedly considering additional retaliatory measures, which include the deployment in South Korea of the U.S. aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan now in Yokosuka, Japan.

Han said the missile command gives the South Korean people confidence and strikes fear in South Korea’s enemies, adding that it will become a core strike unit of the Kill Chain system.

KCNA said Kim made the comments on a visit to the country’s Ministry of the People’s Armed Forces.