The U.S. deployed its strategic nuclear-capable B-52 bomber to South Korea in a show of force against North Korea on Sunday, four days after the communist state claimed to have conducted a hydrogen bomb test.
The deployment was part of the allies’ coordinated military steps to respond to Pyongyang’s latest provocation. As a first step, Seoul resumed its loudspeaker propaganda broadcasts along the heavily fortified border last Friday.
The B-52 bomber, which is a core element of the U.S.’ strategic nuclear force, took off from Andersen Air Force base in Guam early in the morning and reached the U.S. Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, at around noon, the U.S. Forces Korea told the media.
Escorted by two South Korean F-15K fighters and two U.S. F-16 fighters, the long-range bomber staged a low-altitude flight over the Osan Air Base and then returned to Guam.
Upon the bomber’s arrival, South Korea’s Air Force Operations commander Lt. Gen. Lee Wang-keun and U.S. Seventh Air Force commander Lt. Gen. Terrence O’Shaughnessy issued separate statements in which they underscored the allies’ resolve to maintain a robust deterrence and fend off Pyongyang’s potential provocations.
“The United States remains steadfast in its commitment to the defense of the Republic of Korea and to maintaining stability on the Korean Peninsula, to include extended deterrence provided by our conventional forces and our nuclear umbrella,” O’Shaughnessy said in a statement.
“As demonstrated by today’s mission, the combined U.S. and Republic of Korea air forces work and train together closely every day, and we are prepared to meet any threat to our alliance, or the great nation of the Republic of Korea,” he added.
Extended deterrence refers to Washington’s stated commitment to deterring military threats to its key Asian ally of the South, including those from the North’s nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction.
http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20160110000413
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