The U.S. military has made yet another show of strength against North Korea, flying nuclear-capable B-52 bombers over the Korean peninsula during a joint aerial drill with South Korea.
The joint drill took place Wednesday as the US government continues to North Korea is preparing another nuclear test.
It was the first B-52 deployment in the region in a month.
US OPENS DRILLS WITH SOUTH KOREA, JAPAN AS NORTH KOREA BLUSTERS
In this photo provided by South Korea Defense Ministry, U.S. Air Force B-1B bombers (bottom left) fly in formation with South Korea’s Air Force F-35A fighter jets and U.S. Air Force F-16 fighter jets (bottom right) over the South Korea Peninsula during a joint air drill in South Korea. (South Korea Defense Ministry via AP)
The aerial drills are only one facet of a multidimensional campaign to flex U.S.-South Korean military might near their northern adversary.
The U.S. and its allies began naval anti-submarine drills Monday, their first joint exercise in six months.
NORTH KOREA THREATENS RETALIATION FOR US-SOUTH KOREA MILITARY DRILLS: NOT ‘EMPTY TALK’
FILE: The portraits of late North Korean leaders Kim Il-Sung (L) and Kim Jong-Il (R) are seen in North Korea’s Sakchu county in North Pyongan province, as seen from the Chinese border city of Dandong. (Getty Images)
South Korea’s defense ministry says the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier participated in the drill alongside destroyers from all three countries.
Submarine-launched missiles are much harder to track than ground or even air-launched missiles due to the uncertainty of where a submarine could launch the missile.
In this photo provided by South Korea Defense Ministry, a U.S. Air Force B-52H Stratofortress aircraft, center, flies in formation with South Korea’s Air Force KF-16 fighters and South Korea’s Air Force F-15K fighters over the western sea of Korean peninsula during a joint air drill in South Korea. (South Korea Defense Ministry via AP)
North Korea threatened retaliation ahead of Monday’s drills this weekend, vowing that it was not making “empty talk.”
The rhetoric came in a statement published by the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), which condemned South Korea and the United States for the joint 11-day Freedom Shield exercise held last month.
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In this photo provided by the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, front right, with his wife Ri Sol Ju, front left, and his daughter poses with military top officials for a photo at a feast to mark the 75th founding anniversary of the Korean People’s Army at an unspecified place in North Korea. ( (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP))
“Their war hysteria is running up to the climax along with the start of Ssangyong, a joint landing drill,” the statement read.
Last month, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called on his country to be ready to launch a nuclear attack to deter war. His comments came after a flurry of missile launches, which saw North Korea testing its capabilities.
Fox News’ Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report.
