North Korea on Sunday lashed out at a live-fire drill the US and South Korea staged in a show of force against Pyongyang, accusing Washington of pushing the peninsula to the “tipping point” of nuclear war.
North Korean state media sharply criticised the U.S. on Sunday in a commentary in the ruling party’s Rodong Sinmun newspaper, accusing the U.S. of “reckless military provocations.”
Sunday’s comments were reported in English by the state Korean Central News Agency; the news agency said that the recent drill increased the threat of a nuclear war. Two B-1 bombers flew 2,000 miles from Anderson Air Force Base in Guam to conduct a precision strike training exercise with South Korean fighter jets. The bombers were also joined by Japanese fighters during their flight.
The US Air Force, in a statement, called the mission a “demonstration of the ironclad U.S. commitment to our allies.”
The bombers, which can carry 84 500-pound bombs, fired releasing inert weapons at the Pilsung Range. The mission took 10 hours, according to the statement. “North Korea’s actions are a threat to our allies, partners and homeland,” Gen. Terrence O’ Shaughnessy, the Pacific Air Forces commander, said. “Let me be clear, if called upon we are trained, equipped and ready to unleash the full lethal capability of our allied air forces.”
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