B-1Bs conduct bombing drill

A B-1B Lancer, left, drops a guided bomb in a drill over Gangwon Province, Saturday. / Courtesy of ROK Air Force

By Yi Whan-woo

Two U.S. B-1B Lancer strategic bombers conducted a bombing drill over South Korea, Saturday, in a show of force against North Korea following its test-firing of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) last week.

North Korea denounced the drill in an op-ed published by the Rodong Sinmun, Sunday, saying it was a “risky gamble of war maniacs who rush to set fire for a nuclear war on the Korean Peninsula.”

The South Korean Air Force said the U.S. long-range strategic bombers were deployed to South Korean airspace after departing from Anderson Air Base on Guam.

“The measure was to sternly respond to North Korea’s series of ballistic missile provocations,” a Seoul military official said.

The U.S. bombers entered from above the East Sea and flew northward near the Military Demarcation Line before ending up their drill. They were joined by F-15K and F-16 fighter jets in the eastern part of Gangwon Province when they conducted a precision-strike training aimed at attacking key North Korean facilities.

Each U.S. bomber dropped a Laser Guided Joint Direct Attack Munitions (LJDAM) on a simulated North Korean ballistic missile launch pad.

An LJDAM weighs about 900 kilograms and has a laser sensor in the nose to increase precision-strike capabilities, according to the South Korean military officials.

They said the two allies had delayed the drill because of severe weather but decided to go ahead with their plan to “demonstrate their determination for swift punitive measures” against Pyongyang’s test-launch of a Hwasong-14 missile, Tuesday.

The Rodong Sinmun justified North Korea’s advancement in their ballistic missile program, saying it was to “bring the U.S. nuclear provocations to end.”

“And our successful test of the Hwasong-14 missile testified our efforts,” it said.

Pyongyang’s state-controlled Korean Central Television warned that the U.S. will “face a self-destructive outcome” should it continue to increase threats over a nuclear war.”

The U.S. has repeatedly sent B-1B bombers to the peninsula this year amid North Korea’s cycle of ballistic missile launches.