A B-1B Lancer bomber (L) deployed by the U.S. military and two South Korean F-15K fighters fly over Osan Air Base, south of Seoul, on Sept. 21, 2016, in this photo released by the South Korean Air Force. The bomber is one of the two B-1B Lancer bombers that the United States deployed the same day from Guam to show its strong commitment to its key Asian ally amid evolving threats from North Korea. It marks the first time for a B-1B Lancer bomber to have made a landing in South Korea. (Yonhap)
North Korea has their typical provocation playbook and the US has its typical playbook in response with one of the plays being to fly a bomber from Guam over South Korea:
Two B-1B nuclear-capable strategic bombers of the U.S. Air Force flew over South Korea, Tuesday, in a show of force against North Korea that conducted its fifth nuclear test last week in defiance of global warnings.
The B-1B Lancers conducted a low-altitude flight over Osan Air Base, south of Seoul, around 10:00 a.m. after having flown from the Andersen Air Force Base in Guam. The aircraft is capable of carrying the largest payload of both guided and unguided weapons of any current American bombers.
One B-1B was escorted by four F-15Ks from South Korean Air Force, while the other was escorted by four F-16s from the U.S. Air Force during the flight. [Korea Times]
You can read more at the link.
More of the typical North Korean rhetoric in response to the US deployment of B-1 bombers to Guam which I have assume is in preparation for the upcoming UFG exercise in Korea where North Korea always seems to act up:
North Korea has accused Washington of planning a pre-emptive nuclear strike, after the US announced it would deploy its B-1 bomber in the Pacific for the first time in a decade.
The strategic aircraft were to be deployed on Saturday on the US island of Guam, the US military said last month, describing the operation as a routine rotation with the B-52 bomber.
Tensions have been running high since North Korea carried out its fourth nuclear test in January, followed by a barrage of missile launches that this month reached Japanese waters directly for the first time.
Pyongyang accused Washington of “becoming all the more pronounced in their moves to topple down the DPRK by mobilizing all nuclear war hardware,” using North Korea’s official title.
“The enemies are bluffing that they can mount a pre-emptive nuclear strike on the DPRK by letting fly B-1B over the Korean peninsula within two-three hours in contingency,” said an English-language statement on state media.
“Such moves for bolstering nuclear force exposes again that the US imperialists are making a pre-emptive nuclear strike on the DPRK a fait accompli.” [AFP]
You can read more at the link.
