US to use strategic bomber in exercises with South Korea | NOW

The US Air Force will deploy B-1 bombers on Saturday in military exercises with South Korea. As a result, tensions on the Korean Peninsula continue to mount.

According to the news agency Yonhap The deployment of the strategic bomber is a response to North Korea’s series of weapons tests over the past week. A B-1 bomber was last deployed in U.S.-South Korean exercises in 2017.

North Korea is angry because South Korea has started military exercises with the United States. These aerial exercises have been taking place since Monday. Pyongyang then decided to carry out a series of missile tests itself in protest. Seoul and Washington again qualify these tests as “ongoing provocations” and extend the planned exercises until Saturday.

South Korea has also persuaded the United States to increase the deployment of “strategic assets”, including aircraft carriers, nuclear submarines and other long-range bombers, around the Korean peninsula.

The United States on Friday accused Russia and China of shielding North Korea from further intervention by the UN Security Council. The missile tests have led to sanctions from the international community, while China and Russia are calling for an easing of sanctions, they say to persuade Pyongyang to start negotiations.