Seoul and Washington have been holding air drills since Monday, which were extended by one day to Saturday in response to what the allies call “ongoing provocations” by North Korea. This is the first B-1B to be deployed in the joint exercises since 2017, Yonhap said. The B-1B is a so-called strategic bomber. The supersonic can fly at very low altitudes and carry nuclear weapons. The device is not easy to spot by radar.
South Korea has persuaded the United States to increase the deployment of ‘strategic assets’, including aircraft carriers, nuclear submarines and long-range bombers such as the B-1B, around the Korean peninsula.
Earlier on Friday, the United States accused Russia and China of protecting North Korea from further actions by the UN Security Council. The missile tests have led to sanctions from the international community, while China and Russia are calling for sanctions to be relaxed, they say in order to persuade Pyongyang to enter into negotiations.