U.S. to fly supersonic bomber in show of force against North Korea

South Korea’s Defence Ministry said at least one B-1B bomber will participate on the last day of a joint U.S.-South Korea air force exercise that wraps up Saturday

The United States will fly a supersonic bomber over ally South Korea as part of a massive combined aerial exercise involving hundreds of warplanes, in a show of force meant to intimidate North Korea over its barrage of ballistic missile tests this week that has escalated tensions in the region.

South Korea’s Defence Ministry said at least one B-1B bomber will participate on the last day of a joint U.S.-South Korea air force exercise that wraps up Saturday. South Korean and U.S. military officials didn’t immediately provide more details.

The “Vigilant Storm” exercise, which has involved about 240 warplanes, including advanced F-35 fighter jets from both countries, has triggered an angry reaction from North Korea. The North this week launched dozens of missiles into the sea, including an intercontinental ballistic missile that triggered evacuation warnings in northern Japan, and flew its own warplanes inside its territory.

North Korea’s Foreign Ministry late Friday described those military actions as an appropriate response to Vigilant Storm, which it called a display of U.S. “military confrontation hysteria.” It said North Korea will respond with the “toughest counteraction” to any attempts by “hostile forces” to infringe on its sovereignty or security interests.

B-1B flyovers had been a familiar show of force during past periods of tensions with North Korea. The planes last appeared in the region in 2017, during another provocative run in North Korean weapons demonstrations. But the flyovers had been halted in recent years as the United States and South Korea halted their large-scale exercises to support the Trump administration’s diplomatic efforts with North Korea and because of COVID-19.

The allies have resumed their large-scale training this year as North Korea dialed up its weapons testing to a record pace, exploiting a divide in the U.N. Security Council deepened over Russia’s war on Ukraine as a window to accelerate arms development.

North Korea hates such displays of American military might at close range. The North has continued to describe the B-1B as a “nuclear strategic bomber” although the plane was switched to conventional weaponry in the mid-1990s.