US flies stealth bombers over S. Korea

SEOUL: The United States said two nuclear-capable B-2 stealth bombers flew “deterrence” missions over South Korea yesterday, defying apocalyptic threats of retribution from North Korea against ongoing war games.
The deployment of the stealth bombers was intended to send a potent message to Pyongyang about the US commitment to defending South Korea against any aggression, as military tensions on the Korean peninsula soar.
It came shortly after the North severed its last-remaining military hotline with South Korea and put its rocket units on combat status with a threat to target US bases in the Pacific region.
The two B-2s, from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri, flew the 13,000-mile (20,800-kilometer) round-trip in a “single continuous mission,” dropping dummy ordnance on a target range in the South, the US military said in a statement.
The bombers were participating in South Korean-US military exercises that have incensed North Korea, which has threatened to unleash a second Korean War and launch pre-emptive nuclear strikes on South Korea and the US mainland.
Earlier yesterday, US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel told his South Korean counterpart that Seoul could rely on all the military protection the United States has to offer — nuclear, conventional and missile defense.
The US and South Korean militaries signed a new pact last week, providing for a joint military response to even low-level provocation by North Korea.
The use of the stealth bombers is sure to prompt a fresh outcry from Pyongyang, which has already denounced the use of US B-52 bombers in the joint exercises.
The drills are held annually and are regularly condemned by Pyongyang as provocative rehearsals for an invasion.
In its latest protest at the military drills, North Korea announced Wednesday that it was severing its military hotline with the South, saying it was no longer needed given that “war may break out any moment.”
The North has severed the hotline before, most recently in March 2009. In that case the line was reconnected less than two weeks later.
Among other things, the military hotline was used on a daily basis to organize movement in and out of the Kaesong industrial complex — a joint South-North Korean venture established in 2004.
The South Koreans used the line to give the North the names of those seeking entry to Kaesong, guaranteeing their safety as they crossed one of the world’s most heavily militarised borders.
The crossing was operating normally Thursday, officials said, adding that they had used a civilian link to get the names to the North Korean guards.