US deploys stealth fighters and supersonic bombers for live-fire drill with South Korean forces - but North Korea dismisses it as a 'wild military act'
- The U.S. flew two bombers and four fighter jets alongside South Korean forces on Thursday in a live-fire drill
- The display was in response to North Korea, which launched a midrange ballistic missile over Japan earlier this week
- The drill also came a day after the U.S. tested it's missile defense off the coast of Hawaii
- The US and South Korea conducted bombing drills along the border on Thursday, in a clear warning to North Korea following another ballistic missile launch earlier this week.
However, the rogue-nation dismissed the joint training exercise and said it will not deter them from continuing their nuclear program.
'The wild military acts of the enemies are nothing but the rash act of those taken aback,' said the Korean Central News Agency - which acts as the mouthpiece of dictator Kim Jong-Un.
Two U.S. B-1B supersonic bombers and four F-35B stealth fighter jets joined four South Korean F-15 fighters in live-fire exercises at a military field in eastern South Korea.
The training mission simulated precision strikes against the North's 'core facilities,' according to the U.S. Pacific Command and South Korea's Defense Ministry.
The B-1Bs were flown in from Andersen Air Force Base in Guam while the F-35Bs came from a U.S. base in Iwakuni, Japan.
The United States flew some of its most advanced warplanes in bombing drills with ally South Korea on Thursday, a clear warning to North Korea. Above, two U.S. Marine Corps F-35 fighter jets participating in the live-fire drill
Two U.S. B-1B supersonic bombers and four F-35B stealth fighter jets joined four South Korean F-15 fighters in live-fire exercises at a military field in eastern South Korea that simulated precision strikes against the North's 'core facilities'
The B-1Bs were flown in from Andersen Air Force Base in Guam while the F-35Bs came from a U.S. base in Iwakuni, Japan
The North, which claims Washington has long threatened Pyongyang by flaunting the powerful U.S. nuclear arsenal, describes the long-range B-1Bs as 'nuclear strategic bombers' although the United States no longer arms them with nuclear weapons.
The dueling military displays open up the risk that things will get worse as each side seeks to show it won't be intimidated.
North Korea has made it clear that it sees its weapons program, which demands regular testing to perfect, as the only way to contest decades of U.S. hostility, by which it means the huge U.S. military presence in South Korea, Japan and the Pacific.
In this photo provided by South Korea Defense Ministry, U.S. Air Force F-35 stealth fighter jets and South Korean F-15 fighter jets fly over the Korean Peninsula on Thursday
A U.S. Air Force B-1B bomber drops a bomb over the Korean Peninsula, South Korea on Thursday
The dueling military displays open up the risk that things will get worse as each side seeks to show it won't be intimidated. Above, U.S. Air Force F-35 stealth fighter jets and South Korean F-15 fighter jets fly over the Korean Peninsula on Thursday
Washington, in turn, seeks with its joint drills with Seoul and bomber flights to show that it will not be pushed from its traditional role of supremacy in the region. More missile tests, more bomber flyovers and three angry armies facing each other across the world's most heavily armed border raises the possibility that a miscalculation could lead to real fighting.
The U.S. Pacific Command said the exercises were conducted in direct response to North Korea's recent missile launch. Over the course of a 10-hour mission, the B-1Bs, F-35Bs and two Japanese F-15 fighters first flew together over waters near Kyushu, Japan.
The U.S. and South Korean warplanes then flew across the Korean Peninsula and participated in the live-fire training before returning to their respective home stations, according to the Pacific Command.
'North Korea's actions are a threat to our allies, partners and homeland, and their destabilizing actions will be met accordingly,' Gen. Terrence J. O'Shaughnessy, commander of the U.S. Pacific Air Forces, said in a statement.
'This complex mission clearly demonstrates our solidarity with our allies and underscores the broadening cooperation to defend against this common regional threat. Our forward-deployed force will be the first to the fight, ready to deliver a lethal response at a moment's notice if our nation calls.'In Beijing, North Korea's ally China warned that war is not an option in finding a solution to Pyongyang's growing nuclear capabilities.
Defense Ministry spokesman Col. Ren Guoqiang told reporters that all parties should exercise restraint and avoid words and actions that escalate tension.
The bombing exercise came as the United States and South Korea wrapped up their annual Ulchi Freedom Guardian joint military drills that involved tens of thousands of soldiers. North Korea condemns the annual U.S.-South Korea war games as rehearsals for an invasion and described Tuesday's launch over Japan as a countermeasure against the drills. Washington and Seoul faced calls to postpone or downsize this year's drills.
The live-fire drill came a day after the U.S. tested its missile defense system off the coast of Hawaii. A missile was launched from a base in Hawaii (above) and then shot down by a destroyer
The United States often sends its warplanes to South Korea, mostly for patrols, when animosity rises on the Korean Peninsula, which is technically in a state of war because the 1950-53 Korean War ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty.
North Korea on Tuesday flew a potentially-nuclear capable Hwasong-12 intermediate range missile over northern Japan and later called it a 'meaningful prelude' to containing the U.S. territory of Guam. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said the launch was a 'curtain-raiser of its resolute countermeasures' against the U.S.-South Korea war games and called for his military to conduct more ballistic missile launches targeting the Pacific Ocean.
North Korea has been maintaining a torrid pace in weapons tests this year as it openly pursues an arsenal of nuclear-armed, intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of reaching deep into the U.S. mainland. Experts say Kim wants a real nuclear deterrent against the United States to ensure the survival of his government and likely believes that it will strengthen his negotiating position when North Korea returns to talks.
Pyongyang had earlier threatened to fire a salvo of Hwasong-12s toward Guam, which is home to key U.S. military bases and strategic long-range bombers the North finds threatening. It also flight tested a pair of developmental ICBMs in July.
South Korean analysts said that the North's threat against Guam and the launch over Japan on Tuesday are likely attempts to make launches over Japan an accepted norm and win itself greater military space in a region dominated by enemies.
The U.S. and South Korean militaries say the Hwasong-12 the North fired over the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido flew for about 2,700 kilometers (1,677 miles). South Korea's Vice Defense Minister Suh Choo-suk told lawmakers on Thursday that the North might have fired the missile at about half its maximum range.
The bombing test came a day after the U.S. Missile Defense Agency and the Navy conducted a successful missile defense test off the coast of Hawaii.
The test, scheduled well in advance, was done from the USS John Paul Jones.
- North Korea's test launch saw a ballistic missile fly over northern Japan in an act of outrageous provocation
- South Korea then responded to the show of force with a display of firepower near its border with the North
- Mr Trump said he’d received Kim Jong-un’s message ‘loud and clear’ and added: 'All options are on the table’
- Kim Jong-un has missiles that have the potential to reach a wide arc of the Western Pacific, including Guam
Just when simmering tensions over North Korea’s nuclear missile programme seemed to be easing, its unpredictable dictator yesterday upped the ante in brazen style — sending a missile capable of bearing a nuclear warhead over Japan.
It was an act of outrageous provocation.
As we have seen, South Korea responded with a display of firepower near its border with the North, while President Trump announced he’d received Kim Jong-un’s message ‘loud and clear’ and repeated that ‘all options are on the table’.
His words didn’t have the impact of that ‘fire and fury’ speech aimed at Pyongyang earlier this month, but the threat is implied. Which begs the question: just how long can the White House go on sabre-rattling?
Washington had persuaded itself that Kim was backing down. The U.S. Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, believed that China’s willingness to back new, tougher UN economic sanctions against its old ally were a restraint on Pyongyang.
But the latest launch not only flouts Japan’s sovereignty with utter contempt, it confirms that Kim Jong-un has missiles with the potential to reach a wide arc of the Western Pacific, including U.S. bases such as Guam. Major Chinese cities are also within range.A small, poor but reckless and belligerent nuclear-tipped country is testing not only Donald Trump and the United States, but the UN Security Council, which met in emergency session yesterday, too.
It is one thing for global leaders to say ‘all options are on the table’, quite another to choose a line of action that stops North Korea without setting off a nuclear war in East Asia — and, quite probably, World War III.
But at some point, President Trump — and remember, there are four generals in his top team now — must act to teach North Korea and any other rogue regime with nuclear capabilities or aspirations not to push it too far.
Show of force: South Korea launched military drills which included dropping eight bombs on a training field near the northern border, within hours of the North's missile test
U.S. President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump depart the White House in Washington, U.S., on their way to view storm damage in Texas
The Kim dynasty has invested everything it has to obtain nuclear weapons to safeguard its regime. This latest launch is yet another warning that it will stop at nothing to stay in power.
To counter such a high-risk mentality, some in Washington are beginning to think the unthinkable. But for the moment, other options that stop short of triggering Armageddon are more likely.
Option 1: DIPLOMACY
For some analysts, Kim Jong-un’s provocative actions are what a psychiatrist might call a ‘cry for recognition’. He is a small boy behaving very badly so that the biggest boy on the block, the U.S., will take him seriously.
Treat North Korea as an equal not a rogue, say these analysts.
The problem is that both Kim’s grandfather (Kim Il-sung, who led the invasion of South Korea that started the Korean War of 1950-1953) and father (Kim Jong-il who turned North Korea into a nuclear power) charmed delegations from Washington into reporting back on their plans for reform, when what they were actually doing was pursuing their nuclear agenda relentlessly.
Under Kim Jong-un (pictured on Saturday), Pyongyang has made rapid strides in its ballistic missile technology in violation of UN resolutions and threats of 'fire and fury' from Trump
Living in fear: South Koreans watch file footage of a North Korean missile launch, at a railway station in Seoul after the North fired a ballistic missile over Japan and into the Pacific Ocean
Appeasement has a poor track record in Pyongyang.
In any case, the Trump administration would demand a verifiable halt to further missile development — and Kim won’t give up his only card willingly.
Option 2: SANCTIONS
If Kim can’t be sweet-talked into seeing sense, then even tougher economic sanctions would force him to choose between North Korea’s economic viability and its nuclear prowess. The UN Security Council, which includes China and Russia, has backed sanctions repeatedly since Pyongyang started its nuclear and missile tests a decade ago.
Earlier this month, the UN beefed up existing sanctions with an international ban on key exports from North Korea amounting to $1billion. China and Russia are North Korea’s lifeline to the outside world and could strangle the regime if they acted in tandem to cut all trade and transport links.
However, with more than 90 per cent of North Korea’s trade going through China, the Chinese would take a hit financially, while a chaotic economic collapse in North Korea could see millions of refugees heading for the Chinese border.
Response: U.S. President Donald Trump said he had received Kim Jong-un's message 'loud and clear' after North Korea's ballistic missile launch over Japan today
Response: A bomb hits a mock target at the Pilseung Firing Range in Gangwon-do, South Korea near the border to the North after on Tuesday as the South continues military drills
A desperate Kim might even, in a last act of defiance, turn his fire on Beijing and Moscow itself.
Even if prepared for that outcome, Presidents Xi and Putin would demand a high price from Trump for that kind of high-risk help. And remember, the U.S. has just imposed mandatory sanctions of its own on Russia. Would Congress swallow its pride and repeal them to get Putin on board?
In reality, sanctions are slow to deliver. Decades of sanctions were needed to prod Iran into doing a deal, which Trump and Israel still don’t trust. Would a North Korean deal be any more believable?
Option 3: A LIMITED STRIKE
The U.S. had a range of airbases in South Korea, Japan and on the Pacific island of Guam from which to strike, with B1 bombers, cruise missiles, bunker-busting bombs, plus its fleet of nuclear aircraft carriers (each with more attack planes than the entire RAF).
Warning: Colonel Lee Kuk-no of South Korea made it clear that Seoul would respond with full force is North Korea threatened the South
While this firepower would, ultimately, destroy much of North Korea’s military nuclear infra-structure and 10,000 artillery sites, the country is more prepared than ever against an air attack.
It has mobile launchers to move and hide missiles, while the newer North Korean missiles are solid-fuelled (not liquid-fuelled) so can be launched much more quickly in retaliatory strikes at Seoul, the capital of U.S. ally South Korea, where 10 million people live.
There is no foolproof way to neutralise Kim Jong-un’s nuclear warheads by a massive airstrike. Simultaneous special forces’ attacks would be required — and all-out war might well result.
Option 4: FULL INVASION
Despite being far better-equipped than North Korea, the U.S. would require the bulk of its military manpower to be deployed to Korea to ensure a rapid and decisive win, leaving it exposed elsewhere in the world.
War in Korea would tie down the U.S. army and marines — unless South Korea’s 650,000 troops also took part. But South Korea is reluctant to engage in a pre-emptive war that would threaten Seoul with instant destruction.
China is a factor, too. It is vehemently hostile to the U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile defence system that was recently deployed in South Korea.
Drills: South Korea's F-15K fighter jets drop bombs during a training at the Taebaek Pilsung Firing Range on Tuesday morning in Gangwon-do, South Korea
Beijing’s fear is that the real target of any American military action in the region is ultimately China. For the U.S. to act without being sure of Chinese neutrality runs the risk of a wider and far more perilous conflict.
Even if China was ready to accept the fall of the Pyongyang regime, a conventional invasion would not be swift enough to stop Kim Jong-un’s regime launching some kind of nuclear strike, as well as firing off his stockpile of chemical and biological weapons.
According to U.S. intelligence, North Korea has between 20 and as many as 60 nuclear bombs. If only a couple were successfully launched at South Korean cities, the scale of the casualties would be horrendous.
Option 5: ASSASSINATION
Taking out Kim Jong-un and his key commanders in a so-called decapitation strike is arguably the cheapest and least devastating option in terms of military and civilian casualties.
Unfortunately, a successful assassination wouldn’t stop a barrage of artillery and rockets being fired in instant retaliation against South Korea and Japan.
It might also require a U.S.-South Korean occupation of North Korea that would be faced by guerilla resistance deploying Kim’s stockpile of chemical and biological weapons. Nor would China — faced with the prospect of millions of refugees heading to its territory — be pleased by a speedy collapse of Kim’s regime.
And if it failed, Kim’s revenge would be indiscriminate attacks aimed at South Korea, Japan and any U.S. bases within range. In reality, a decapitation strike would probably mean all-out war.
Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said he would do all in his power to protect the Japanese public
Option 6: A U.S. NUCLEAR STRIKE
The ‘first strike’ option is the ‘unthinkable’ that some in Washington are now considering, using America’s massive nuclear superiority to ‘eliminate’ North Korea.
But such an attack would kill millions of North Koreans, alarm America’s European allies, and trigger massively increased defence spending by nuclear superpowers China and Russia.
Option 7: PRESSURE ON CHINA
China’s rivalry with the U.S. has been a key determining factor in its relationship with North Korea in recent years.
North Korea has served a useful purpose because its nuclear antics required Washington to go cap in hand to Beijing in the hope it would restrain its protégé and stop the region from exploding into war.
And China has done well out of its dealings with North Korea. In return for hard currency — which it uses to buy components and expertise for its nuclear programme — North Korea provides cheap labour and raw materials to Chinese businesses.
China, however, has been finding increasingly that the Kim dynasty is not a cosy client. The grisly slaughter of Kim Jong-un’s uncle — reportedly fed to dogs — who had been the regime’s point-man with Beijing back in 2013, was a warning that there were limits to what China could make Kim do.
Without the Chinese support, Kim Jong-un’s militarised economy would suffocate quickly, so why doesn’t China do more than cut oil supplies and stop buying Kim’s coal?
The truth is that Beijing is wary. Kim’s nuclear deterrent can be pointed at China, too; while a regime collapse would mean a flood of refugees into Chinese territory.
Worse still, an American invasion of North Korea might advance to the Yalu River border with China, as it did briefly in 1950. Such a humiliation could turn Chinese nationalist sentiment against their Communist rulers.
Nor does China want U.S. bases in North Korea. It wants a neutral Korean peninsula and for the U.S. to back off from challenging Beijing’s claims to big swathes of the South China Sea.
Only if Washington can offer China a cast-iron deal would Beijing risk pulling the plug on Pyongyang. But can Washington swallow such concessions?
Rex Tillerson, the U.S. Secretary of State, has hinted he could live with some concessions. But can he persuade Trump? Kim is betting there will be no deal with China.
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