US fighter jets stage show of force off North Korean coast

US bombers flew off the east coast of North Korea in a show of force designed to project American military power in the face of Pyongyang's weapons programmes, escalating already sky-high tensions.

This US Air Force handout photo obtained September 23, 2017 shows an Air Force B-1B Lancer receiving fuel from a KC-135 Stratotanker near the East China Sea, on September 18, 2017. Afp
AFP

This US Air Force handout photo obtained September 23, 2017 shows an Air Force B-1B Lancer receiving fuel from a KC-135 Stratotanker near the East China Sea, on September 18, 2017. Afp

US Air Force B-1B Lancer bombers escorted by fighter jets flew in international airspace over waters east of North Korea on Saturday, in a show of force the Pentagon said demonstrated the range of military options available to President Donald Trump.

The flight, which was disclosed shortly before North Korea's foreign minister was due to address the United Nations, was the farthest north of the demilitarised zone separating North and South Korea that any US fighter jet or bomber has flown in the 21st century, the Pentagon said.

"This mission is a demonstration of US resolve and a clear message that the President has many military options to defeat any threat," said Pentagon spokeswoman Dana White, calling North Korea's weapons programme "a grave threat."

"We are prepared to use the full range of military capabilities to defend the US homeland and our allies."

The flight follows a week of heightened rhetoric from Washington and Pyongyang, with Trump and Kim Jong Un trading insults. Trump called the North Korean leader a "madman" on Friday, a day after Kim dubbed him a "mentally deranged US dotard."

Pyongyang conducted its sixth and largest nuclear test on September 3 and has launched dozens of missiles this year as it accelerates its nuclear weapons programme.

The Pentagon said the B-1B Lancer bombers came from Guam and the US Air Force F-15C Eagle fighter escorts came from Okinawa, Japan. It said the operation showed the seriousness with which it took North Korea's "reckless behaviour."

The patrols came after officials and experts said a small earthquake near North Korea's nuclear test site on Saturday was probably not man-made, easing fears Pyongyang had exploded another nuclear bomb just weeks after its last one.

North Korea's Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho warned on Thursday that North Korea could consider a hydrogen bomb test of an unprecedented scale over the Pacific.

Ri did not respond on Saturday when asked by reporters whether North Korea had conducted a new nuclear test.

Tensions have continued to rise around the Korean Peninsula since Pyongyang carried out its sixth nuclear test, prompting a new round of UN sanctions.

On Thursday Trump announced new US sanctions that he said allows the targeting of companies and institutions that finance and facilitate trade with North Korea.

'Rocket Man' and 'Mentally deranged US dotard'

North Korea's foreign minister assailed US President Donald Trump at the United Nations on Saturday, deriding him as a "mentally deranged" leader whose threats had increased the chances of military confrontation.

Ri Yong-ho told the General Assembly that Trump's vow to "totally destroy" his country had made "our rockets' visit to the entire US mainland all the more inevitable."

Describing Trump as a "mentally deranged person full of megalomania," Ri said the US leader who "holds the nuclear button" posed "the gravest threat to international peace and security today."

In his first address to the General Assembly, Trump called leader Kim Jong-Un "Rocket Man" on a "suicide mission," prompting Kim to warn in turn that the US president would "pay dearly" for his threat.

Ri accused Trump of turning the United Nations into a "gangsters' nest where money is respected and bloodshed is the order of the day," and of insulting Kim.

North Korea in recent weeks detonated its sixth nuclear bomb and has test-fired intercontinental missiles -- saying it needs to defend itself against hostility from the United States and its allies.

Calling the resolutions unjustified, Ri said that Pyongyang was left with no other choice but to respond with the "nuclear hammer of justice."

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