North Korea's media has criticised the US for deploying two bombers to the Korean Peninsula to take part in military drills, describing the move as a "provocation" that could lead to the outbreak of a nuclear war.
On Saturday, two B-1B strategic bombers were deployed to the peninsula to carry out precision strike drills alongside South Korean fighter jets, in a warning message to the North Korean regime following its recent launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile.
"The US saying it will regularly deploy strategic bombers to the Korean Peninsula is the same as a crazy act of playing fire on top of an ammunitions locker," said an editorial piece in Rodong Sinmun, the country's main newspaper and the official mouthpiece of the Workers' Party of Korea.
"A simple misjudgment or mistake may lead to the outbreak of a nuclear war and that, in turn, is sure to lead to a new world war," it added.
The article also justified North Korea's weapons' tests as "legitimate and justified measures" amid increasing "threats of nuclear war" against Pyongyang by Washington.
A South Korean air force spokesperson said the aerial manoeuvres conducted on Saturday by Washington and Seoul were a response to the series of ballistic missile launches by North Korea.
The B-1B Lancers flew over the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan, and approached the border that separates the two Koreas. They were then joined by South Korea's F-15K and F-16 fighter jets in the eastern province of Gangwon to conduct live-fire drills simulating an attack on key North Korean facilities, the spokesperson said.
These exercises were part of extensive live-fire drills being carried out by Washington and Seoul in response to North Korea's launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile on Tuesday, and included the launch of several guided missiles and a considerable deployment of their naval and air forces.
The latest North Korean missile launch shows the country has the technology to manufacture missiles capable of travelling between 7,000 and 8,000km, far enough to reach parts of the US.
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