B-52 bomber flies over Korea
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A B-52 strategic bomber, escorted by South Korea’s F-15K and the U.S. Air Force’s F-16 fighter jets, flies over an air base in Osan, Gyeonggi Province, Sunday. The B-52 bomber, armed with nuclear missiles and “bunker buster” bombs, left U.S. Andersen Air Force Base in Guam on Sunday morning and arrived in Osan at noon as a show of force against North Korea. / Yonhap
Washington may bring USS Ronald Reagan next month
By Yi Whan-woo
A B-52 strategic bomber of the U.S. Air Force flew over South Korea, Sunday, in a show of force following North Korea’s fourth nuclear test conducted four days earlier.
Washington is also expected to send the USS Ronald Reagan, a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, from its naval base at Yokosuka, Japan, to South Korea soon, as part of its plan to bolster military counteractions with Seoul.
The measures may include deployment of an Ohio-class guided-missile submarine from Yokosuka and an F-22 Raptor stealth fighter from Okinawa, also in Japan, according to military officials.
They said the USS Ronald Reagan may participate in Foal Eagle, a combined field training exercise aimed at deterring Pyongyang’s military aggression.
This year’s Foal Eagle, which takes place every March, could be rescheduled and instead be held in February.
The show of force on Sunday was seen as a response to Pyongyang’s claim that it conducted its first hydrogen bomb test in Punggye-ri, North Hamgyong Province, last week.
In a statement, South Korea’s Air Force Operations Commander Lt. Gen. Lee Wang-keun and U.S. Seventh Air Force Commander Lt. Gen. Terrence J. O’Shaughnessy said a B-52 Stratofortress flew the skies above Osan, Gyeonggi Province, at noon on Sunday.
Lee and O’Shaughnessy also said that the nuclear bomber departed the U.S. Andersen Air Force Base in Guam on Sunday morning and was escorted by an entourage of two South Korean F-15Ks and two U.S. F-16s when passed Osan, where the headquarters of the Seventh Air Force is located.
It then headed back to its base in Guam, said the two commanders.
“The allied forces of South Korea and the U.S. are ready to work closely in the event of emergencies and strike our enemies at any time and any place,” Lee said.
O’Shaughnessy said, “B-52 missions reinforce the U.S. commitment to the security of our allies and partners, and demonstrate one of the many alliance capabilities available for the defense of the Republic of Korea.”
Adm. Harry B. Harris Jr., the head of the U.S. Pacific Command, said in a press statement, “This was a demonstration of the ironclad U.S. commitment to our allies in South Korea, in Japan, and to the defense of the American homeland.”
The Seventh Air Force is under the wing of the U.S. Pacific Command.
“North Korea's nuclear test is a blatant violation of its international obligations. U.S. joint military forces in the Indo-Asia-Pacific will continue to work with all of our regional allies and partners to maintain stability and security,” Harris added.
The B-52 bomber is one of three components in the U.S. “nuclear umbrella” system provided to South Korea, along with intercontinental ballistic missiles and submarine-launched ballistic missiles.
Armed with nuclear missiles and a “bunker buster,” it is capable of destroying North Korea's underground facilities, including its nuclear test sites.
Two of the more notable types of missiles compatible with the B-52 are the AGM-86 air-launched cruise missile and the AGM-129 stealth nuclear cruise missile.
The former is able to hit a target within a 100-meter radius from as far away as 2,500 km. The range for the AGM-129 is 3,000 kilometers.
Meanwhile, South Korea resumed its anti-North loudspeaker broadcasts on Friday, along the inter-Korean border in retaliation to North Korea’s nuclear test.