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U.S. sends 2 B-1B bombers to S.Korea after DPRK's nuke test

Xinhua, September 21, 2016 Adjust font size:

The U.S. military on Wednesday sent two strategic bombers to South Korea in a show of force against the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) over its latest nuclear test.

Two B-1B Lancers flew low over the Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, some 70 km south of capital Seoul, at about 1:10 p.m. local time (0410 GMT), according to local media reports. The supersonic bombers had made a sortie from the U.S. air base in Guam.

One of the two bombers returned to the Guam base after the fly-over, but the other unusually landed in the Osan base. How many days the U.S. supersonic bomber will stay in South Korea is unknown.

On Sept. 13, the U.S. military dispatched two B-1B bombers to South Korea, but all of them returned back to the Guam base right after flying low over the Osan base for about 10 minutes.

The armed protests came after the DPRK said on Sept. 9 that it successfully conducted an explosion test of nuclear warhead to fit on ballistic rockets. The fifth nuclear test was staged just eights month after the fourth in January.

The fifth test was seen as the most powerful nuclear detonation ever by the DPRK as it produced an explosive yield of 10 kilotons, stronger than 6 kilotons recorded in the previous test.

Pyongyang said Tuesday that it tested an engine jet on the ground of a carrier rocket for geo-stationary satellite, which Seoul military saw as a long-range missile.

The DPRK is expected here to launch a new long-range rocket at or around Oct. 10 to mark the 71st anniversary of the founding of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea (DPRK). Endit