US bomber flies over South Korea
Print Edition
THE United States yesterday deployed a B-52 bomber on a low-level flight over its ally South Korea, a show of force following North Korea’s nuclear test last week.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un maintained that last Wednesday’s test was of a hydrogen bomb and a self-defensive step against a US threat of nuclear war.
The US government and weapons experts doubt the North’s claim that the device was a hydrogen bomb.
The massive B-52, based in Guam and capable of carrying nuclear weapons, was seen in a low flight over Osan Air Base. It was flanked by two fighters, a US F-16 and a South Korean F-15, before returning to Guam, the US military said in a statement.
Osan is south of Seoul and 77 kilometers from the Demilitarized Zone that separates the two Koreas. The flight was “in response to recent provocative action by North Korea,” the US statement said.
“The United States remains steadfast in its commitment to the defense of the Republic of Korea and to maintaining stability on the Korean Peninsula,” said US Lt. General Terrence O’Shaughnessy.
After North Korea’s last test, in 2013, the US sent a pair of nuclear-capable B-2 stealth bombers over South Korea. At the time, North Korea responded by threatening a nuclear attack on the United States.
Washington is also considering sending a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier to waters off the Korean Peninsula next month to join a naval exercise with Seoul, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported. However, US Forces Korea officials said they had no knowledge of the plan.
The two Koreas remain in a technical state of war after their 1950-53 conflict ended in a truce, not a peace treaty, and the United States has about 28,500 troops based in South Korea.
An editorial in North Korea’s Rodong Sinmun newspaper yesterday called for a peace treaty with the United States, which is Pyongyang’s long-standing position.
“Only when a peace treaty is concluded between the DPRK and the US can genuine peace settle in the Korean Peninsula,” it said.
Earlier yesterday, state news agency KCNA quoted Kim as saying no one had the right to criticize North Korea’s nuclear tests.
“The DPRK’s H-bomb test is 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,” Kim said. The DPRK is the official name of North Korea.
South Korea yesterday continued to conduct propaganda broadcasts, which include “K-pop” music and statements critical of the Kim government, across the border.
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