US flies bombers over Korean peninsula

The United States flew two B-1B bombers over the Korean peninsula in a show of force after recent North Korean missile tests, the US Air Force said in a statement on Sunday.
North Korea said it conducted another successful test of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) on Friday that proved its ability to strike America's mainland, drawing a sharp warning from US President Donald Trump, The Daily Mail reported.
The B-1B flight, conducted on Saturday, was in direct response to the missile test and the previous July 3 launch of the "Hwansong-14" rocket, the US statement said. The bombers took off from a US air base in Guam, and were joined by Japanese and South Korean fighter jets during the exercise, according to the statement.
"North Korea remains the most urgent threat to regional stability," Pacific Air Forces commander General Terrence J. O'Shaughnessy said in the statement.
"If called upon, we are ready to respond with rapid, lethal, and overwhelming force at a time and place of our choosing".
The US has in the past used overflights of the supersonic B1-B "Lancer" bomber as a show of force in response to North Korean missile or nuclear tests.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un personally supervised the midnight test launch of the missile on Friday night and said it was a "stern warning" for the United States that it would not be safe from destruction if it tries to attack, the North's official KCNA news agency said.
North Korea's state television broadcast pictures of the launch, showing the missile lifting off in a fiery blast in darkness and Kim cheering with military aides.
China, the North's main ally, said it opposed North Korea's missile launches, which it said violate United Nations Security Council resolutions designed to curb Pyongyang's banned nuclear and missile program.

Source: Mena