SEOUL/TOKYO: US heavy bombers and stealth jet fighters took part in a joint live fire drill in South Korea on Thursday, intended as a show of force against the North after its latest missile launch.
鈥淪outh Korean and US air forces conducted an air interdiction exercise in order to strongly cope with North Korea鈥檚 repeated firing of ballistic missiles and development of nuclear weapons,鈥� the South鈥檚 air force said in a statement.
Two B-1B 鈥淟ancer鈥� bombers from Guam and four F-35B stealth jet fighters from the Marine Corps鈥� Iwakuni air base in Japan conducted the drill, with four South Korean jet fighters also taking part.
B-1B overflights of the peninsula from Guam, a US territory in the Pacific, infuriate the North, which cited them when it announced a plan to fire a salvo of missiles toward the island.
鈥淣orth Korea鈥檚 actions are a threat to our allies, partners and homeland, and their destabilizing actions will be met accordingly,鈥� said General Terrence J. O鈥橲haughnessy, Pacific Air Forces commander, who made an unscheduled visit to Japan.
鈥淭his 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鈥檚 notice if our nation calls.鈥�
North Korea has made no secret of its intention to develop the knowhow to launch a nuclear-tipped missile at the United States and has recently threatened the US Pacific territory of Guam. It denounced the US exercises in traditionally robust fashion.
鈥淭he US imperialists and the south Korean puppet forces do not hide their bellicose nature, claiming that the exercises are to 鈥榗ounter鈥� the DPRK鈥檚 ballistic rocket launches and nuclear weapons development,鈥� the North鈥檚 KCNA news agency said, referring to North Korea by its official name, the Democratic People鈥檚 Republic of Korea (DPRK).
鈥淏ut the wild military acts of the enemies are nothing but the rash act of those taken aback by the intermediate-to-long range strategic ballistic rocket launching drill conducted by the army of the DPRK as the first military operation in the Pacific.鈥�
'Fire and fury鈥�
US President Donald Trump has warned North Korea it would face 鈥渇ire and fury鈥� if it threatened the United States and that the US military was 鈥渓ocked and loaded鈥� in case of any provocation.
Trump on Wednesday declared 鈥渢alking is not the answer鈥� to resolving the long-standing impasse.
鈥淭he US has been talking to North Korea, and paying them extortion money, for 25 years,鈥� Trump, who last week said North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was 鈥渟tarting to respect鈥� the United States, wrote on Twitter.
However, US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, when asked by reporters just hours later if the United States had run out of diplomatic solutions with North Korea, replied: 鈥淣o.鈥�
鈥淲e are never out of diplomatic solutions,鈥� Mattis said before a meeting with his South Korean counterpart at the Pentagon. 鈥淲e continue to work together, and the minister and I share a responsibility to provide for the protection of our nations, our populations and our interests.鈥�
Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera spoke to Mattis by telephone and agreed to keep putting pressure on North Korea in a 鈥渧isible鈥� form, Japan鈥檚 defense ministry said. Japanese Prime Shinzo Abe said he and visiting British Prime Minister Theresa May agreed to urge China, North Korea鈥檚 lone major ally, to do more to rein in the North.
They also discussed the possibility of adopting a new UN Security Council resolution over North Korea, a British government source said.
Sanctions options
The 15-member Security Council on Tuesday condemned the firing of an intermediate range ballistic missile over Japan as 鈥渙utrageous鈥� and demanded that North Korea halt its weapons program, but the US-drafted statement did not threaten new sanctions.
Japan was pushing the United States to propose new UN Security Council sanctions, which diplomats said could target North Korea鈥檚 laborers working abroad, oil supply and textile exports.
Diplomats expected resistance from Russia and fellow veto-wielding power China, particularly given new measures were only recently imposed after North Korea staged two long-range missile launches in July.
A US ban on travel to North Korea comes into effect on Friday, curbing one of its few remaining supplies of foreign currency.
China again urged restraint from all parties.
Defense ministry spokesman Ren Guoqiang told a monthly briefing that China would never allow war or chaos on the Korean peninsula, its doorstep, and military means were not an option.
鈥淐hina strongly demands all sides to exercise restraint and remain calm and not do anything to worsen tensions,鈥� Ren said, adding that Chinese forces were maintaining a normal state of alert along the North Korean border.
Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said the situation on the peninsula was serious.
鈥淚 also want to stress that the current tense situation on the peninsula isn鈥檛 a screenplay or a video game,鈥� she told reporters.
鈥淚t鈥檚 real, and is an immense and serious issue that directly involves the safety of people from both the north and south of the peninsula, as well as peace and stability of the entire region.鈥�
鈥楰ey milestone鈥�
The Pentagon鈥檚 Missile Defense Agency and the crew of the guided-missile destroyer USS John Paul Jones conducted a 鈥渃omplex missile defense flight test鈥� off Hawaii on Wednesday, resulting in the intercept of a medium-range ballistic missile target, the agency said.
The agency鈥檚 director, Lt. Gen. Sam Greaves, called the test 鈥渁 key milestone鈥� in giving US Navy Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense ships an enhanced capability, but did not mention North Korea.
The United States and South Korea are technically still at war with North Korea because their 1950-53 conflict ended in a truce, not a peace treaty.
North Korea routinely says it will never give up its weapons programs, calling them necessary to counter perceived American hostility.