They US has went back to its usual play in its playbook to respond to North Korean provocations:
Four U.S. F-35B stealth jets and two B-1B strategic bombers, along with South Korean F15-K fighters, conduct a bombing drill on the Korean Peninsula on Sept. 18, 2017, in response to North Korea’s latest nuclear and ballistic missile tests, in this photo provided by the air force. (Yonhap)
A day after US ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley admitted that with the latest round of sanctions the Security Council has just about reached the limits of China’s and Russia’s tolerance – and that the US will now need to explore other diplomatic, and possibly military, options, US forces joined with their South Korea counterparts for another “show of strength” meant for North Korea.
Both Haley and US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson appeared on the Sunday talk shows to stress – using language that’s ringing increasingly hollow – that the administration wouldn’t hesitate to authorize a military response to the North should diplomacy fail.
And to demonstrate that, four US F-35 stealth fighters and two B-1B bombers conducted another round of “mock bombing exercises” over the Korean peninsula on Monday, according to Reuters. The US aircraft, which were joined by four South Korea F-15K fighter jets, returned to their bases in Japan and Guam after the exercise, but the latest demonstration of western capabilities likely assures that Kim Jong Un, who views such exercises in the same way the international community views his missile launches, will seek to retaliate with his own show of force. [Zero Hedge]
You can read more at the link, but Kim Jong-un was probably took more notice of the Sino-Russian drill that took place near his border with Russia:
Meanwhile, China and Russia conducted joint military exercises of their own near the Russian far eastern port of Vladivostok. The drills are the latest sign that the two powers, which have sought to serve as mediators between the US and North – though neither belligerent has so far taken the two countries’ offer to arrange diplomatic talks – are taking joint precautions should the conflict boil over into war, according to Reuters, which cited a report from China’s Xinhua news agency. Although it is unclear if the message is meant for fat Uncle Kim or not so fat Uncle Slam.
Those drills were conducted between Peter the Great Bay, near Vladivostok, and the southern part of the Sea of Okhotsk, to the north of Japan. Those drills were part of joint China-Russian naval exercises, the first part of which was staged in the Baltic in July. Of course, Xinhua did not directly link the drills to current tension over North Korea. [Zero Hedge]
