N. Korea vows to shoot down US bombers
State mouthpiece makes first response to B-1B flyby
By Kim Hyo-jin
North Korea denounced the recent flight of U.S. Air Force (USAF) B-1B Lancer bombers off the North Korean coast as dangerous and rash Friday in its first response to the strong show of force.
Uriminzokkiri, a state-run North Korean overseas online propaganda outlet, released a commentary titled “Provocative behavior that arouses tens of millions of people’s will for revenge” to criticize the flight. The response came six days after the operation.
“The U.S.’ flying its B-1B Lancer strategic bomber squadron over international waters in the East Sea was an immensely dangerous and reckless act that intends to drive the situation on the Korean Peninsula to extremes and an anti-North Korea provocation that cannot be overlooked,” the commentary said.
“The U.S. willfully designed the plan to pressure us hard by carrying out the operation like actual warfare and having an aerial tanker accompany it,” the site said, adding it is an “utterly miscalculated, silly idea” if the U.S. believes the flight could contain North Korea.
“The U.S.’s bellicose, youthful bravado is rather fanning the will for retaliation among tens of millions of our soldiers and civilians,” it said. “Our military has been highly motivated with a resolve to shoot down the U.S. flights seeking to trespass in our territorial skies.”
On Sept. 23, the USAF flew the heavy bombers from Guam with an escort of F-15C fighters from Kadena Air Base in Okinawa the farthest north of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) in the 21st century.
The move came as fears are growing over possible armed conflict between the U.S. and North Korea amid the heightened war of words between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
The U.S. Defense Department later described it as a demonstration of the Trump government’s resolve and a clear message that the president has many military options to defeat any threat.
However, the North did not take immediate action to the flyover, throwing its air defense capability into question.
In a briefing to lawmakers of the National Assembly Intelligence Committee, Tuesday, officials of Seoul’s spy agency said that Pyongyang did not respond to the flyover as it failed to detect it, according to Rep. Lee Cheol-woo, who chairs the committee.
The North’s state-run media stressed that they had detected previous flights of B-1B bombers, but did not state clearly whether it detected the latest one.
It only said: “This year alone, the U.S. sent its B-1B strategic bombers for 19 times on the Korean Peninsula and they were done in the form of a joint drill with its puppet (South Korea). But this time, it was done as a unilateral move without a prior consultation with its puppet.”
Cheong Wa Dae said earlier this week that South Korean President Moon Jae-in received a briefing of the flight plan from the U.S. and gave his consent beforehand, dismissing speculation that Seoul was unaware of the operation.