A powerful U.S. B-52 bomber flew low over South Korea on Sunday, a clear show of force from the United States as a Cold War-style standoff deepened between its ally Seoul and North Korea following Pyongyang’s fourth nuclear test.
The video shows the bomber closely accompanied by South Korean F-15 and US F-16 jets fly over South Korean airspace. The bomber later returned to its base in Guam after the flight, the U.S. military said.
“This was a demonstration of the ironclad U.S. commitment to our allies in South Korea, in Japan, and to the defense of the American homeland,” said Adm. Harry B. Harris Jr., commander U.S. Pacific Command, in a statement. “North Korea’s nuclear test is a blatant violation of its international obligations.”
B-52s were one arm of the nuclear deterrent force during the Cold War and were used in the carpet-bombings of North Vietnam. During the 1991 Gulf War, they dropped 40 percent of the ordnance on Iraq. With airborne refueling, the planes — now fitted to launch cruise missiles as well as drop bombs — can fly around the world.