US bombers fly over Korean peninsula after North Korea missile test

SEOUL: The United States flew two supersonic B-1B bombers over the Korean peninsula in a show of force on Sunday after Pyongyang´s recent tests of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM), the US and South Korean Air Forces said.

North Korea said it conducted another successful test of an ICBM on Friday that proved its ability to strike America´s mainland, drawing a sharp warning from US President Donald Trump.

The B-1B flight was in direct response to the missile test and the previous July 3 launch of the "Hwasong-14" rocket, the US statement said. The South Korean air force said the flight was conducted early on Sunday.

The bombers took off from a US air base in Guam, and were joined by Japanese and South Korean fighter jets during the exercise, according to the statement. "North Korea remains the most urgent threat to regional stability," Pacific Air Forces commander General Terrence J. O´Shaughnessy said in the statement. "If called upon, we are ready to respond with rapid, lethal, and overwhelming force at a time and place of our choosing".

The US has in the past used overflights of the supersonic B1-B "Lancer" bomber as a show of force in response to North Korean missile or nuclear tests. Also on Sunday, the US Missile Defence Agency announced the United States had successfully shot down a medium-range missile in the latest test of its Thaad missile defense programme which is designed to protect the country against potential threats from countries such as North Korea and Iran.

The test was planned well before the rising tensions with North Korea and involved a medium-range missile, not the long-range types being tested by the North Koreans. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un personally supervised the midnight test launch of the missile on Friday night and said it was a "stern warning" for the United States that it would not be safe from destruction if it tries to attack, the North´s official KCNA news agency said. —Reuters