North Korea on Tuesday sounded nuclear alarm, accusing the United States of pushing the Korean peninsula to the brink of nuclear war, as a couple of US bombers flew training drills with the South Korean and Japanese air forces, in yet another show of strength to Pyongyang.
Two supersonic B-1B Lancer bombers were reportedly deployed on Monday amidst rising tensions over North Korea's strengthening nuclear ambitions. Pyongyang has continued with its pursuit of nuclear and missile programmes despite pressure from many nations and several sanctions imposed on it by United Nations.
North Korea has has carried out a total of five nuclear tests so far, and according to an expert satellite imagery analysis, Pyongyang may be preparing for a sixth test soon.
The accusation from North Korea came even as the United States President Donald Trump said that he was open to meeting the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un under appropriate circumstances, which includes Pyongyang abandoning its nuclear programme.
South Korean Defence Ministry spokesman Moon Sang-gyun during a news briefing on Monday said that the joint drill of the bombers was conducted to deter North's provocations, and also to test their readiness against any possible nuclear test from Pyongyang.
The US air force also released a statement saying the bombers had flown from Guam to conduct training exercises with the South Korean and Japanese air forces, according to Reuters reports.
Soon after the drill, North Korea said that the bombers conducted "a nuclear bomb dropping drill against major objects" in its territory at a time when the US President and "other U.S. warmongers are crying out for making a preemptive nuclear strike" on the North.
"The reckless military provocation is pushing the situation on the Korean peninsula closer to the brink of nuclear war," the North's official KCNA news agency said on Tuesday.
Tensions between North Korea and United States at its highest at the moment, with Pyongyang possibly preparing for another nuclear tests and the US settling an advanced anti-missiles system in South Korea to be vigilant.
The Kim Jong-un-ruled country has also issued multiple threats of attacks to the US, South Korea and Japan, issuing the latest against US last Sunday (April 30) warning the nation that the North is ready to destroy a US nuclear-powered aircraft carrier deployed in Korean waters, with a single strike.
