US B-52 strategic bomber to land for first time in South Korea this week

Seoul, Oct 16 (EFE).- A United States B-52 strategic bomber will land in South Korea for the first time on Thursday in a new show of force against North Korea.

Although this nuclear-capable bomber has previously participated in joint air drills in the Korean peninsula, it is the first time it will land in South Korea.

The B-52 is scheduled to participate in this year’s edition of the Seoul International Aerospace & Defense Exhibition, which is being held between Tuesday and Thursday at the Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, south of the South Korean capital, the United States Forces Korea (USFK) said in a statement on Monday.

The B-52 is one of the main strategic bombers of the United States, along with the B-2 and B-1.

The bomber’s arrival marks yet another demonstration of the US’ extended deterrence policy, its commitment to Seoul that includes regularly sending rotating US strategic assets to respond to the North Korean regime and discourage future actions such as weapons of mass destruction testing.

Last week, the US nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, USS Ronald Reagan, arrived at Busan, 320 kilometers (199 miles) southeast of Seoul.

It is scheduled to depart on Monday after taking part in activities with the South Korean navy.

North Korea condemned the arrival of the US aircraft carrier and even threatened to destroy it in the event of an escalation.

Pyongyang is planning to launch a military spy satellite into orbit this month after two failed attempts in May and August.

Seoul and Washington consider the launch a covert test of intercontinental-range ballistic missiles, which Pyongyang is banned from carrying out under UN sanctions on the country.

Tension has escalated on the Korean peninsula after the failure of the 2019 denuclearization negotiations, with Pyongyang rejecting any offer of dialogue and carrying out a record number of missile tests, and Seoul and Washington resuming their large-scale joint maneuvers and deploying US strategic assets in the region. EFE

asb/pd