The United States has sent two supersonic bombers over the Korean Peninsula in a show of force against North Korea following the country's latest intercontinental ballistic missile test.
The US Pacific Air Forces says in a statement the B-1 bombers were escorted by South Korean and Japanese fighter jets on Saturday as they performed a low-pass over an air base in South Korea before returning to Guam.
It says the mission was a response to the consecutive ICBM tests by North Korea this month.
"North Korea remains the most urgent threat to regional stability," Pacific Air Forces commander General Terrence J. O'Shaughnessy said in the statement.
"If called upon, we are ready to respond with rapid, lethal, and overwhelming force at a time and place of our choosing".
The US often sends powerful warplanes in times of heightened animosities with North Korea.
Analysts say flight data from North Korea's second ICBM test conducted on Friday night showed that a broader part of the US mainland is now in range of Pyongyang's weapons.
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