WASHINGTON — In a show of American military might to North Korea, the United States on Saturday flew bombers and fighter escorts to the farthest point north of the Demilitarized Zone by any such American aircraft this century. The Pentagon said the mission showed how seriously President Donald Trump takes North Korea’s “reckless behaviour.”

“This mission is a demonstration of U.S. resolve and a clear message that the president has many military options to defeat any threat,” Defence Department spokesman Dana White said in a statement.

“North Korea’s weapons program is a grave threat to the Asia-Pacific region and the entire international community. We are prepared to use the full range of military capabilities to defend the U.S. homeland and our allies,” White said.

North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong Un, has said Trump would “pay dearly” for threatening to “totally destroy” North Korea if the U.S. was forced to defend itself or its allies against a North Korean attack. Kim’s foreign minister told reporters this past week that the North’s response to Trump “could be the most powerful detonation of an H-bomb in the Pacific.”

North Korea has said it intends to build a missile capable of striking all parts of the United States with a nuclear bomb. Trump has said he won’t allow it, although the U.S. so far has not used military force to impede the North’s progress.

The Pentagon said B-1B bombers from Guam, along with F-15C Eagle fighter escorts from Okinawa, Japan, flew in international airspace over waters east of North Korea on Saturday. The U.S. characterized the flights as extending farther north of the DMZ, which separates North and South Korea, than any U.S. fighter or bomber had gone off the North Korean coast in the 21st century.

Trump on Friday had renewed his rhetorical offensive against Kim.

“Kim Jong Un of North Korea, who is obviously a madman who doesn’t mind starving or killing his people, will be tested like never before!” the president tweeted.

On Thursday, Trump announced more economic sanctions against the impoverished and isolated country, targeting foreign companies that deal with the North.

“North Korea’s nuclear weapons and missile development is a grave threat to peace and security in our world and it is unacceptable that others financially support this criminal, rogue regime,” Trump said as he joined Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and South Korean President Moon Jae-in for a meeting in New York.

Hours later, Kim responded by saying Trump was “deranged.”

In a speech last week at the United Nations, Trump had issued the warning of potential obliteration and mocked the North’s young autocrat as a “Rocket Man” on a “suicide mission.”

Trump’s executive order expanded the Treasury Department’s ability to target anyone conducting significant trade in goods, services or technology with North Korea, and to ban them from interacting with the U.S. financial system.

Trump also said China was imposing major banking sanctions, too, but there was no immediate confirmation from the North’s most important trading partner.

If enforced, the Chinese action Trump described could severely impede the isolated North’s ability to raise money for its missile and nuclear development. China, responsible for about 90 per cent of North Korea’s trade, serves as the country’s conduit to the international banking system.</s>UNITED NATIONS/WASHINGTON, Sept 23 (Reuters) - North Korea said on Saturday firing its rockets at the U.S. mainland was "inevitable" after U.S. President Donald Trump called Pyongyang's leader "rocket man", in a further escalation of rhetoric between the two countries over the North's nuclear weapons and ballistic missile program.

North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho's remarks before the United Nations General Assembly came hours after U.S. Air Force B-1B Lancer bombers escorted by fighter jets flew in international airspace over waters east of North Korea in a show of force the Pentagon said demonstrated the range of military options available to Trump.

Ri's speech capped a week of escalating rhetoric between 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 U.S. dotard."

On Saturday, the mudslinging continued with Ri calling Trump "a mentally deranged person full of megalomania and complacency" who is trying to turn the United Nations into a "gangsters' nest". Ri retorted that Trump himself was on a "suicide mission" after the U.S. president said Kim was on such a mission.

"'President Evil' is holding the seat of the U.S. President," Ri said, warning that Pyongyang was ready to defend itself if the United States showed any sign of conducting a "decapitating operation on our headquarters or military attack against our country".

"Now we are finally only a few steps away from the final gate of completion of the state nuclear force," Ri told the annual gathering of world leaders.

He said sanctions would have no effect on Pyongyang's resolve to develop its nuclear weapons, with the ultimate goal being "balance of power with the U.S."

Trump announced new U.S. sanctions on Thursday that he said allow targeting of companies and institutions that finance and facilitate trade with North Korea.

Earlier this month the U.N. Security Council unanimously adopted its ninth round of sanctions on Pyongyang to counter its nuclear and ballistic missiles programs.

The U.S. bombers' flight was the farthest north of the demilitarized zone separating North and South Korea that any U.S. fighter jet or bomber has flown in the 21st century, the Pentagon said.

"This mission is a demonstration of U.S. resolve and a clear message that the President has many military options to defeat any threat," said Pentagon spokeswoman Dana White.

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

North Korea has launched dozens of missiles this year, several flying over Japan, as it accelerates its program aimed at enabling it to target the United States with a nuclear-tipped missile.

Pyongyang conducted its sixth and largest nuclear test on Sept. 3 and has threatened to test a hydrogen bomb over the Pacific.

The Pentagon said the B-1B bombers came from Guam and the U.S. 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 behavior."

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.

China's Earthquake Administration said the quake was not a nuclear explosion and had the characteristics of a natural tremor.

The CTBTO, or Comprehensive Test-Ban Treaty Organization, which monitors nuclear tests, and officials of the South Korean meteorological agency also said they believed it was a natural quake.

The earthquake, which South Korea's Meteorological Agency put at magnitude 3.0, was detected 49 km from Kilju in North Hamgyong Province, where North Korea's known Punggye-ri nuclear site is located, the official said.

All of North Korea's six nuclear tests registered as earthquakes of magnitude 4.3 or above. The last test registered as a 6.3 magnitude quake.

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

Trump told the United Nations on Tuesday the United States would "totally destroy" North Korea if it threatened the United States or its allies.

North Korea's nuclear tests to date have all been underground, and experts say an atmospheric test, which would be the first since one by China in 1980, would be proof of the success of its weapons program.

The United States and South Korea are technically still at war with North Korea because the 1950-53 Korean conflict ended with a truce and not a peace treaty.

The North accuses the United States, which has 28,500 troops in South Korea, of planning to invade and regularly threatens to destroy it and its Asian allies.</s>WASHINGTON: 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 demilitarized 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 program "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 Sept. 3 and has launched dozens of missiles this year as it accelerates a program aimed at enabling it to target the United States with a nuclear-tipped missile. The North has threatened to test a hydrogen bomb over the Pacific.

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 behavior."</s>U.S. Air Force B-1B bombers and F-15 jets, flying in international waters, carried out a show of force Saturday off the coast of North Korea aimed at countering what the Pentagon called Pyongyang's "reckless behavior."

The Pentagon said the operation was taking place at the farthest point north of the Demilitarized Zone, which separates North and South Korea, that any U.S. fighter or bomber aircraft has flown this century.

Pentagon spokesperson Dana White said the operation was aimed at "underscoring the seriousness with which we take (North Korea's) reckless behavior."

"This mission is a demonstration of U.S. resolve and a clear message that the President has many military options to defeat any threat," White said. "North Korea’s weapons program is a grave threat to the Asia-Pacific region and the entire international community. We are prepared to use the full range of military capabilities to defend the U.S. homeland and our allies."

The display of military might comes as tensions between Pyongyang and Washington are mounting, most recently with North Korea’s foreign minister blasting President Trump in a speech Saturday at the United Nations.



 Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho called Trump “a mentally deranged person full of megalomania” who is holding “the nuclear button.”

He said Trump’s personal insults against North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, make "our rocket’s visit to the entire U.S. mainland inevitable all the more."

In a speech this week before the U.N., Trump warned North Korea that it could face potential obliteration and mocked the North’s young leader as a “Rocket Man” on a “suicide mission.”

North Korea has said it intends to build a missile capable of striking all parts of the United States with a nuclear bomb and has underscored its rhetoric with periodic missile and nuclear tests.

Foreign minister Yong-ho even warned on Friday that Pyongyang may test a hydrogen bomb in the Pacific Ocean.

The B-1B Lancers, deployed at Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota, took off from Andersen Air Force Base, in Guam, the Pentagon said. The bombers were joined by U.S. Air Force F-15C Eagle fighter escorts from Okinawa, Japan.

The Department of Defense did not specify the exact number of aircraft used in the operation.

The Pentagon emphasized that no Japanese or South Korean fighters were involved in the operation.</s>President Donald Trump has sent a strong warning to North Korea that he "has many military options to defeat any threat," as US bombers flew close to North Korea's east coast today (23 September).

The ongoing war of words between Trump and North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un escalated after North Korea conducted a powerful nuclear test on 3 September, suspected to be a hydrogen bomb.

The US has responded to North Korea's 'reckless behaviour' by displaying their military capabilities, sending the bombers closest to the demilitarised zone than any US fighter jet or bomber has flown in the 21st Century, BBC News reports.

The Pentagon said the flight is an indication of "the seriousness" with which the US takes North Korea's provocations.

"This mission is a demonstration of US resolve and a clear message that the president has many military options to defeat any threat," said the Pentagon.

Trump and Kim have been trading insults and threats. over Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions and each have threatened military action.

Kim issued a personal statement, in which he referred to the President as a "dotard".

"Now that Trump has denied the existence of and insulted me and my country in front of the eyes of the world and made the most ferocious declaration of a war in history that he would destroy [North Korea], we will consider with seriousness exercising of a we will consider with seriousness exercising of a corresponding, highest level of hardline countermeasure in history," Kim said in a statement.

At the UN on Tuesday, President Donald Trump retaliated with equal aggression saying that he would "totally destroy" North Korea if the US was forced to defend itself or its allies.

"Rocket man is on a suicide mission," Mr Trump said.

The rising tensions between the two nations has worried countries neighbouring North Korea, like Russia and China, who have urged both the countries to exercise restraint.

Stressing the need to stop these provocative rhetoric from both sides, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters: "We have to calm down the hotheads and understand that we need pauses, we need contacts.

"We continue to strive for the reasonable and not the emotional approach... of the kindergarten fight between children," he said and noted that "the nuclear-missile gambles" being played by Pyongyang and US threats of waging a war on the Korean Peninsula do not lead to defusing the tensions in the Asian region.

Earlier on Saturday at 5.29pm local time (8.29am GMT), a magnitude 3.4 tremor was detected near North Korea's nuclear test site, sparking fears that the regime had conducted yet another nuclear test. But experts and international nuclear test monitors said they believed it was a natural quake.</s>North Korea said on Saturday firing its rockets at the U.S. mainland was "inevitable" after U.S. President Donald Trump called Pyongyang's leader "rocket man," in a further escalation of rhetoric between the two countries over the North's nuclear weapons and ballistic missile program.

North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho's remarks before the United Nations General Assembly came hours after U.S. Air Force B-1B Lancer bombers escorted by fighter jets flew in international airspace over waters east of North Korea in a show of force the Pentagon said demonstrated the range of military options available to Trump.

Ri's speech capped a week of escalating rhetoric between 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 U.S. dotard."

On Saturday, the mudslinging continued with Ri calling Trump "a mentally deranged person full of megalomania and complacency" who is trying to turn the United Nations into a "gangsters' nest." Ri retorted that Trump himself was on a "suicide mission" after the U.S. president said Kim was on such a mission.

"'President Evil' is holding the seat of the U.S. President," Ri said, warning that Pyongyang was ready to defend itself if the United States showed any sign of conducting a "decapitating operation on our headquarters or military attack against our country".

"Now we are finally only a few steps away from the final gate of completion of the state nuclear force," Ri told the annual gathering of world leaders.

He said sanctions would have no effect on Pyongyang's resolve to develop its nuclear weapons, with the ultimate goal being "balance of power with the U.S."

Trump announced new U.S. sanctions on Thursday that he said allow targeting of companies and institutions that finance and facilitate trade with North Korea.

Earlier this month the U.N. Security Council unanimously adopted its ninth round of sanctions on Pyongyang to counter its nuclear and ballistic missiles programs.

The U.S. bombers' flight was the farthest north of the demilitarized zone separating North and South Korea that any U.S. fighter jet or bomber has flown in the 21st century, the Pentagon said.

"This mission is a demonstration of U.S. resolve and a clear message that the President has many military options to defeat any threat," said Pentagon spokeswoman Dana White.

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

North Korea has launched dozens of missiles this year, several flying over Japan, as it accelerates its program aimed at enabling it to target the United States with a nuclear-tipped missile.

Pyongyang conducted its sixth and largest nuclear test on Sept. 3 and has threatened to test a hydrogen bomb over the Pacific.

The Pentagon said the B-1B bombers came from Guam and the U.S. 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 behavior."

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.

China's Earthquake Administration said the quake was not a nuclear explosion and had the characteristics of a natural tremor.

The CTBTO, or Comprehensive Test-Ban Treaty Organization, which monitors nuclear tests, and officials of the South Korean meteorological agency also said they believed it was a natural quake.

The earthquake, which South Korea's Meteorological Agency put at magnitude 3.0, was detected 49 km from Kilju in North Hamgyong Province, where North Korea's known Punggye-ri nuclear site is located, the official said.

All of North Korea's six nuclear tests registered as earthquakes of magnitude 4.3 or above. The last test registered as a 6.3 magnitude quake.

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

Trump told the United Nations on Tuesday the United States would "totally destroy" North Korea if it threatened the United States or its allies.

North Korea's nuclear tests to date have all been underground, and experts say an atmospheric test, which would be the first since one by China in 1980, would be proof of the success of its weapons program.

The United States and South Korea are technically still at war with North Korea because the 1950-53 Korean conflict ended with a truce and not a peace treaty.

The North accuses the United States, which has 28,500 troops in South Korea, of planning to invade and regularly threatens to destroy it and its Asian allies.</s>North Korea says rockets to U.S. ‘inevitable’ as U.S. bombers fly off North Korean coast

UNITED NATIONS/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – North Korea said on Saturday firing its rockets at the U.S. mainland was “inevitable” after U.S. President Donald Trump called Pyongyang’s leader “rocket man”, in a further escalation of rhetoric between the two countries over the North’s nuclear weapons and ballistic missile program.</s>WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on U.S.-North Korean tensions (all times local):

The Pentagon says B-1B bombers from Guam and F-15 fighter escorts from Okinawa, Japan, have flown a mission in international airspace over the waters east of North Korea.

The U.S. says it’s the farthest north of the Demilitarized Zone that divides the Korean Peninsula that any American fighter or bomber has flown this century.

Defense Department spokesman Dana White says in a statement that the mission shows how seriously the U.S. takes what he calls North Korea’s “reckless behavior.”

His statement says the flights are a “demonstration of U.S. resolve and a clear message” that President Donald Trump “has many military options to defeat any threat.”

White says “we are prepared to use the full range of military capabilities to defend the U.S. homeland and our allies.”

President Donald Trump has threatened to “totally destroy” North Korea if the United States was forced to defend itself or its allies against a North Korean attack.

That led the North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un, to say Trump would “pay dearly” for making such a threat. And Kim’s foreign minister has said country’s response to Trump “could be the most powerful detonation of an H-bomb in the Pacific.”

As with much that has transpired lately in the U.S.-North Korea nuclear crisis, no one can be sure where this would lead or whether the North will even carry out its threat.

It does raise many questions, including how would the North undertake such a nuclear test, what risks might it pose to Japan and how would the U.S. respond?

Copyright © 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.</s>Washington: The US military, in a show of force, flew bombers in international airspace over waters east of North Korea, the Pentagon announced.

The Pentagon said Saturday that B-1B Lancer bombers from Guam and F-15C Eagle fighter escorts from Okinawa, Japan, flew in international airspace over waters east of North Korea, reports CNN.

It WAS the farthest north of the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) that US fighters or bomber aircraft have ever flown this century.

The flight underscored "the seriousness with which we take North Korea`s reckless behaviour," 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.

"North Korea`s weapons programme is a grave threat to the Asia-Pacific region and the entire international community. We are prepared to use the full range of military capabilities to defend the US homeland and our allies," Pentagon spokeswoman Dana White said in a statement.

There has been name-calling and heightened tensions between Washington and Pyongyang this week as the UN met in New York, CNN reported.

At the UN, North Korea`s Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho said US President Donald Trump was on a "suicide mission".

Ri`s comments to the General Assembly mimicked Trump`s remarks at the UN on Tuesday, when he called North Korean leader Kim Jong-un a "rocket man on a suicide mission".

Earlier this week, Ri had also said that his country could test a powerful nuclear weapon over the Pacific Ocean in response to Trump`s threats of military action.

The minister`s remarks came shortly after Kim made an unprecedented televised statement, accusing Trump of being "mentally deranged".

Meanwhile, a shallow 3.4-magnitude tremor was detected near North Korea`s nuclear test site on Saturday morning, but experts believe it was a natural earthquake.</s>The US has flown nuclear-capable B-1B Lancer bombers escorted by F-15 fighters off North Korea's coast venturing the "farthest north of the Demilitarized Zone," separating the two Koreas, in the 21st century, the Pentagon's spokesperson said."This is the farthest north of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) any U.S. fighter or bomber aircraft have flown off North Korea's coast in the 21st century, underscoring the seriousness with which we take (North Korea's) reckless behavior," said Pentagon spokeswoman Dana White.The DMZ is a strip of land running across the Korean Peninsula near the 38th Parallel, separating North Korea from South Korea. It was created in 1953, following the armistice which ended the Korean War."This mission is a demonstration of US resolve and a clear message that the President has many military options to defeat any threat. North Korea's weapons program is a grave threat to the Asia-Pacific region and the entire international community. We are prepared to use the full range of military capabilities to defend the US homeland and our allies," the spokeswoman added.
U.S. Air Force bombers, escorted by fighter jets, fly in international airspace over waters east of North Korea. A Pentagon spokesperson say this flight's route was the farthest north of the peninsula's Demilitarized Zone of any U.S. aircraft in the 21st century.