SEOUL
• North Korea has accused the US of pushing the Korean peninsula to the brink of nuclear war after a pair of strategic US bombers flew training drills with the South Korean and Japanese air forces in another show of strength.

The two supersonic B-1B Lancer bombers were deployed amid rising tensions over North Korea's pursuit of its nuclear and missile programmes in defiance of United Nations sanctions and US pressure.

The flight of the bombers on Monday came as US President Donald Trump said he was open to meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in appropriate circumstances, even though Pyongyang suggested that it would continue its nuclear tests.

South Korean Defence Ministry spokesman Moon Sang Gyun said Monday's joint drill was conducted to deter provocations by the North and to test readiness against another potential nuclear test.

The US Air Force said the bombers had flown from Guam for training exercises with the South Korean and Japanese air forces.

North Korea said the bombers conducted "a nuclear bomb dropping drill against major objects" in its territory at a time when Mr Trump and "other US 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 yesterday.

Tensions on the Korean peninsula have been high for weeks, driven by fears that the North might conduct its sixth nuclear test in defiance of pressure from the US and Pyongyang's major ally, China.

China's Global Times, a state- backed tabloid, said in an editorial late on Monday that the US should not rely on China alone to pressure Pyongyang into giving up its nuclear ambitions.

South Korea's Acting President Hwang Kyo Ahn yesterday called for cooperation from countries such as China "to put pressure on the North".

Mr Trump said on Monday he would be "honoured" to meet the North's young leader. "If it would be appropriate for me to meet with him, I would absolutely, I would be honoured to do it," he told Bloomberg News in comments that drew criticism in Washington.

He did not say what conditions were needed for such a meeting but White House spokesman Sean Spicer said: "Clearly, conditions are not there right now."

Mr Trump told Reuters last Thursday that a "major, major conflict" with North Korea was possible, while China said last week that the situation could escalate or slip out of control.</s>Kim Jong-un has accused the US of pushing the Korean Peninsula to the brink of nuclear war after a pair of American bombers carried out training drills in the region.

The supersonic B-1B Lancers were deployed in a joint training exercise with the Japanese air forces amid heightened tensions between Pyongyang and Washington.

North Korea said the bombers conducted 'a nuclear bomb dropping drill against major objects' in its territory at a time when US President Donald Trump and 'other U.S. warmongers are crying out for making a preemptive nuclear strike'.

'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 this morning.

The deployment comes amid rising tensions over North Korea's dogged pursuit of its nuclear and missile programmes in defiance of United Nations sanctions and pressure from the US.

The flight of the two bombers on Monday came as Trump said he was open to meeting North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un in the appropriate circumstances, even though Pyongyang suggested it would continue with its nuclear tests.

South Korean Defence Ministry spokesman Moon Sang-gyun told a briefing in Seoul that Monday's joint drill was conducted to deter provocations by the North and to test readiness against another potential nuclear test.

The U.S. air force said in a statement the bombers had flown from Guam to conduct training exercises with the South Korean and Japanese air forces.

Tensions on the Korean peninsula have been high for weeks, driven by concerns that the North might conduct its sixth nuclear test in defiance of pressure from the United States and Pyongyang's sole major ally, China.

China's Global Times, a state-backed tabloid that does not necessarily reflect national policy, said in an editorial late on Monday the United States should not rely on China alone to pressure Pyongyang into giving up its nuclear ambitions.

April could prove a 'turning point', the paper said, but 'Washington ... must also continue to exert its own efforts on the issue'.

It was widely feared North Korea could conduct its sixth nuclear test on or around April 15 to celebrate the anniversary of the birth of the North's founding leader, Kim Il Sung, or on April 25 to coincide with the 85th anniversary of the foundation of its Korean People's Army.

The North has conducted such tests or missile launches to mark significant events in the past.

Instead, North Korea conducted an annual military parade, featuring a display of missiles, on April 15 and then a large, live-fire artillery drill 10 days later.

South Korea's acting president Hwang Kyo-ahn called for stronger vigilance because of continuing provocation by Seoul's poor and isolated neighbour.

'I am asking foreign and security ministries to further strengthen military readiness in order for North Korea not to miscalculate ... and drive the Korea-U.S. alliance and cooperation from neighbouring countries such as China to put pressure on the North,' Hwang told a cabinet meeting on Tuesday.

Trump said on Monday he would be 'honoured' to meet the North's young leader.

'If it would be appropriate for me to meet with him, I would absolutely, I would be honoured to do it,' Trump told Bloomberg News in comments that drew criticism in Washington.

Trump did not say what conditions would be needed for such a meeting to occur or when it could happen. The White House said later North Korea would need to meet many conditions before it could be contemplated.

'Clearly conditions are not there right now,' White House spokesman Sean Spicer said.

'I don't see this happening anytime soon.'

Trump warned in an interview with Reuters on Thursday that a 'major, major conflict' with North Korea was possible, while China said last week the situation on the Korean peninsula could escalate or slip out of control.

In a show of force, the United States has already sent an aircraft carrier strike group, led by the USS Carl Vinson, to waters off the Korean peninsula to conduct drills with South Korea and Japan.

The U.S. military's THAAD anti-missile defence system has reached initial operational capacity in South Korea, U.S. officials told Reuters, although they cautioned that it would not be fully operational for some months.

North Korea test-launched a missile on Saturday that appeared to have failed within minutes, its fourth successive failed launch since March. It has conducted two nuclear tests and a series of missile-related activities at an unprecedented pace since the beginning of last year.

The North is technically still at war with the South after their 1950-53 conflict ended in a truce, not a treaty, and regularly threatens to destroy the United States, Japan and South Korea.</s>Alwaght- North Korea says a pair of US bombers has practiced dropping a nuclear bomb, while flying over the Korean Peninsula in joint wargames with the South, rebuking Washington for pushing the Korean peninsula to the brink of nuclear war.

In a Tuesday report, the North’s official KCNA news agency slammed the US for deploying two supersonic B-1B Lancer bombers during a drill with the South Korean air force a day earlier.

It said the bombers conducted “a nuclear bomb dropping drill against major objects” in its territory at a time when US President Donald Trump and “other US 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 report added.

The US air force said in a statement that the bombers had flown from Guam to conduct training exercises with the South Korean and Japanese air forces.

The South Korean Defense Ministry also said Monday’s joint maneuvers were conducted to deter provocations by the North and to test readiness against another potential nuclear test.

The deployment of the US bombers comes as tensions on the Korean Peninsula have significantly spiked in recent weeks.

The United States has already sent an aircraft carrier strike group, led by the USS Carl Vinson, to waters off the Korean Peninsula for military exercises with South Korea and Japan.

Pyongyang has been subjected to international pressure, including US sanctions and Security Council resolutions, to abandon its arms development and nuclear programs. Yet, it says the programs are meant to protect the country from US hostility.</s>North Korea says US bomber flights signal pre-emptive nuclear strike

Updated

North Korea is accusing the United States of pushing the Korean peninsula to the brink of nuclear war after a pair of strategic US bombers flew over the area in a training drill with the South Korean air force.

Key points: Supersonic B-1B Lancer bombers flew over Korean peninsula

North Korea says US is practising a nuclear strike

Mr Trump has said he would consider meeting Kim Jong-un but also warned of a "major, major conflict"

The two supersonic B-1B Lancer bombers were deployed amid rising tensions over North Korea's dogged pursuit of its nuclear and missile programs in defiance of United Nations sanctions and pressure from the United States.

The flight of the two bombers on Monday came as US President Donald Trump said he was open to meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in the appropriate circumstances, even though Pyongyang suggested it would continue with its nuclear tests.

South Korean Defence Ministry spokesman Moon Sang-gyun told a briefing in Seoul that Monday's joint drill was conducted to deter provocations by the North and to test readiness against another potential nuclear test.

The US air force said in a statement the bombers had flown from Guam to conduct training exercises with the South Korean and Japanese air forces.

North Korea said the bombers conducted "a nuclear bomb-dropping drill against major objects" in its territory at a time when Mr Trump and "other US warmongers are crying out for making a pre-emptive 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 on the Korean peninsula have been high for weeks, driven by concerns that the North might conduct its sixth nuclear test in defiance of pressure from the United States and Pyongyang's sole major ally, China.

'I would be honoured' to meet Jong-un, Trump says

Despite that, Mr Trump said he would be "honoured" to meet the North's young leader.

"If it would be appropriate for me to meet with him, I would absolutely, I would be honoured to do it," Mr Trump told Bloomberg News in comments that drew criticism in Washington.

Mr Trump did not say what conditions would need to be met for any such meeting to occur or when it could happen, but the White House said later North Korea would need to meet many conditions before a meeting could be contemplated.

"Clearly conditions are not there right now," White House spokesman Sean Spicer said.

"I don't see this happening anytime soon."

Mr Trump warned in an interview on Thursday that a "major, major conflict" with North Korea was possible, while China said last week the situation on the Korean peninsula could escalate or slip out of control.

In a show of force, the United States has already sent an aircraft carrier strike group, led by the USS Carl Vinson, to waters off the Korean peninsula to conduct drills with South Korea and Japan.

North Korea test-launched a missile on Saturday that appeared to have failed within minutes, its fourth successive failed launch since March.

It has conducted two nuclear tests and a series of missile-related activities at an unprecedented pace since the beginning of last year.

The North is technically still at war with the South after their 1950-53 conflict ended in a truce, not a treaty, and regularly threatens to destroy the United States, Japan and South Korea.

Reuters

Topics: donald-trump, unrest-conflict-and-war, world-politics, united-states, korea-democratic-peoples-republic-of, korea-republic-of, japan, china, asia, pacific

First posted</s>SEOUL
• North Korea has accused the US of pushing the Korean peninsula to the brink of nuclear war after a pair of strategic US bombers flew training drills with the South Korean and Japanese air forces in another show of strength.

The two supersonic B-1B Lancer bombers were deployed amid rising tensions over North Korea's pursuit of its nuclear and missile programmes in defiance of United Nations sanctions and US pressure.

The flight of the bombers on Monday came as US President Donald Trump said he was open to meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in appropriate circumstances, even though Pyongyang suggested that it would continue its nuclear tests.

South Korean Defence Ministry spokesman Moon Sang Gyun said Monday's joint drill was conducted to deter provocations by the North and to test readiness against another potential nuclear test.

The US Air Force said the bombers had flown from Guam for training exercises with the South Korean and Japanese air forces.

North Korea said the bombers conducted "a nuclear bomb dropping drill against major objects" in its territory at a time when Mr Trump and "other US 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 yesterday.

Tensions on the Korean peninsula have been high for weeks, driven by fears that the North might conduct its sixth nuclear test in defiance of pressure from the US and Pyongyang's major ally, China.

China's Global Times, a state- backed tabloid, said in an editorial late on Monday that the US should not rely on China alone to pressure Pyongyang into giving up its nuclear ambitions.

South Korea's Acting President Hwang Kyo Ahn yesterday called for cooperation from countries such as China "to put pressure on the North".

Mr Trump said on Monday he would be "honoured" to meet the North's young leader. "If it would be appropriate for me to meet with him, I would absolutely, I would be honoured to do it," he told Bloomberg News in comments that drew criticism in Washington.

He did not say what conditions were needed for such a meeting but White House spokesman Sean Spicer said: "Clearly, conditions are not there right now."

Mr Trump told Reuters last Thursday that a "major, major conflict" with North Korea was possible, while China said last week that the situation could escalate or slip out of control.</s>1.The infamous Korean war had killed More than 2 million people in 1950- 53 , including nearly 40,000 Americans. Some 7,000 US soldiers are still listed as missing. Countless families were torn apart by the conflict, which is still officially ongoing, as it was only ended by armistice rather than a peace treaty. It remains one of modern history’s longest wars.

2.This backdrop is important to bear in mind when a US President says, "There is a chance that we could end up having a major, major conflict with North Korea,” as Donald Trump did in an exclusive Reuters interview published Thursday.

3.The regime of North Korean Supremo Kim Jong Un is endlessly hazardous for the international community. Recently, North Korea has shelled South Korean islands and sunk a Naval corvette, claiming dozens of lives, including civilians. To fund its weapons program, the regime trades in narcotics, fake currency and cybercrime across the globe.

4.It is on record to have used VX nerve agent — a UN-certified Weapon of Mass Destruction — at Kuala Lumpur International Airport to assassinate of Kim Jong Nam, Kim Jong Un’s estranged half-brother. It has abducted possibly hundreds of foreign nationals. At home, its own citizens are subject to “crimes against humanity,” according to a 2014 UN report.

5.US however has sat up to send its naval forces to the Korean Peninsula because of North Korea’s nuclear program who has tested five nuclear bombs to date, and appears poised for a sixth. It also frequently tests missiles that may one day be able to reach the continental US “[We can] can tip new-type intercontinental ballistic rockets with more powerful nuclear warheads and keep any cesspool of evils in the earth, including the US mainland, within our striking range,” Kim Jong Un said after watching a rocket test last year.

6.South Koreans Protest US Missile Installation as Tensions Escalate on the Peninsula. Hundreds of protesters in the South Korean town of Seongju clashed with police Tuesday night as trailers carrying components of the US advanced missile defense system known as THAAD rolled through en route to a nearby installation site.

7.President Trump says that if North Korea cannot be persuaded from dismantling its nuclear weapons then military action maybe unavoidable. On April 8, he ordered a US navy strike group — an “armada,” he called it — to the Korean peninsula. The obvious problem is that Seoul — home to half of South Korea’s 50 million people, including 200,000 Americans — lies within range of North Korea’s artillery, and possibly even nuclear weapons.It may be observed that US may look into the gamble that Kim Jong Un would shy away from retaliating against a lightning US strike on his nuclear facilities, cognizant that over whelming American military superiority means any full-scale war would undoubtedly result in his regime’s complete destruction and his capture as a war criminal unless he finally chooses to end his life or take a political asylum in China.

8.UN has so far only applied sanction on North Korea . There is still no mandate on US and its allies to wage war on N. Korea. Hence any unilaterally precipitous action of war on the part of US or South Korea is still far from legitimate although the entire situation can change by any brazen act of DPRK like a nuclear test or a missile hit on South Korea. China who was an alley to North Korea in the Korean war has been confided in by US to restrain Kim Jong Un from any such act. But this little Hitler appears not amenable to China for his ambitions agenda.

9.“It’s not just about whether North Korea can respond, it’s about escalation dominance,” says a professor of Korea-Pacific Studies at the University of California San Diego. “You could find yourself in a situation when the United States thinks those risks are worth taking. We have options.”

10.Perhaps, but the success of those options hinge on 33-year-old despot who has proved himself ruthless even against members of his own family. Trump told Reuters that he operates under the assumption that Kim Jong Un is “rational.” But backed into a corner, is Trump willing to bet nuclear apocalypse on that?But even if North Korea were not able to adequately retaliate, there’s no guarantee strikes would achieve their goal of permanently retarding the regime’s nuclear program. Plus there would be dire strategic consequences. Beijing would be livid. The US would have started yet another 21st Century war, utterly alienating international public opinion, tearing up its hard-fought Asian security alliance and inviting Chinese hardliners to push it out of the region. According to an August 2016 study by Brown University, the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan — in which the US military has been involved — have directly cost 370,000 lives since 2001.

11.However, the broader point is that North Korea, for all its many and egregious faults, is a state hell-bent on survival. It might have nuclear weapons, but the regime cannot use them without guaranteeing its own destruction. That’s how nuclear deterrents work. North Korea is not ISIS with an “end of days” deathwish, wreaking jihad across the globe in its quest for a global caliphate.“Why are people panicking about North Korea?” asks an East Asia expert at South Korea's Troy University. “It’s secular, they want to survive and they are very cognizant of power balances. They are not suicidal.”

12.Unfortunately, there is little chance the regime will voluntarily give up its nuclear weapons. Kim Jong Un is very aware of the fates of Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi and Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, who were both toppled after abandoning their nuclear aspirations. He believes a nuclear bomb guarantees the security of his regime. And he might be right.

13.For lack of any better option, the US and its allies should utilize the countless strategic advantages that won the Cold War, because the tussle with North Korea is still part of that ideological reckoning. China should be pressured to crack down on those that profit from doing business with the regime, especially those that facilitate its illegal activities and weapons program. Common ground should be found for talks where possible.

14.President Trump is in a perfect position to do this. He’s a political outsider who says things other politicians dare not. But it’s unsure whether this pragmatism could stretch so far as to openly accept an uncomfortable fact: North Korea already is a nuclear power. Its first nuclear test was over a decade ago, and analysts say it probably has enough material for a dozen bombs today.

15.From the Soviet Union and China to India and Pakistan, each new member of the nuclear club has faced a very frosty reception. There are few good reasons to welcome North Korea, not least the effect it would have on nuclear proliferation, most notable for Iran. But there are absolutely no good reasons to start another Korean War.( source: TIME)</s>SEOUL, May 2 (Reuters) - Two U.S. B-1B bombers were deployed over the Korean peninsula on Monday during a joint drill with South Korea's air force, South Korea's ministry said.

South Korean Defence Ministry spokesman Moon Sang-gyun told a briefing that the deployment of U.S. bombers was part of efforts to deter provocation by North Korea and respond to threats posed by the North's nuclear and missile programmes.

Moon did not give any further details. (Reporting by Ju-min Park and Jack Kim; Editing by Paul Tait)</s>Two US B-1B bombers were deployed over the Korean peninsula on Monday during a joint drill with South Korea's air force, South Korea's ministry said.

South Korean Defence Ministry spokesman Moon Sang-gyun told a briefing that the deployment of US bombers was part of efforts to deter provocation by North Korea and respond to threats posed by the North's nuclear and missile programmes.

Moon did not give any further details.</s>North Korea say U.S. bombers push tension 'to the brink of nuclear war'</s>The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is deeply concerned that escalating tensions between North Korea and the United States of America could lead to war. This view was expressed at the end of the 30th ASEAN Leaders’ Summit in Manila on the 29th of April 2017.

Given the gravity of the situation, ASEAN could perhaps have been a little more proactive. It should have rejected any military solution and argued for a negotiated diplomatic settlement of the conflict. For negotiations to begin there will have to be some preliminary gestures from both sides. North Korea should suspend all nuclear and missile tests while the US and South Korea should halt their joint military exercises.

Though this idea was first suggested by the Chinese Foreign Minister, Wang Yi, ASEAN should have put it forward as its own proposal. ASEAN should have gone further and offered to host talks among all the six principal actors in the conflict — North and South Korea, China, the US, Japan and Russia. A strong push by ASEAN for the immediate re-commencement of the six party talks at this juncture would have carried a lot of weight.

Unlike the first six party talks from 2003 to 2008 which made little progress the talks this time should go beyond North Korea’s nuclear weapons programme. It should address some of the underlying causes of the tension and friction in the region as a whole. For instance, North Korea began its nuclear testing and its missile firing as a response to the massive US- South Korean joint military exercises. This is why issues pertaining to US-South Korea military ties; the US military relationship with Japan; and the stationing of thousands of US military personnel in a number of bases in both South Korea and Japan cannot be divorced from North Korea’s military posturing.

What this means is that while the North Korean leadership’s belligerence has undoubtedly contributed to the current conflict, the US’s drive to maintain its hegemony over North East Asia has also exacerbated the situation. This hegemonic agenda — especially if it is viewed against the backdrop of the Korean War (1950-1953) — is directed against China and Russia which are both neighbours and allies of sorts of North Korea. Even after the end of the Cold War (1949-1989) the US has continued to see North Korea from a power perspective shaped to a great extent by the position of South Korea and Japan, on the one hand, and the presence of China and Russia, on the other.

If these fundamental issues are ignored, and all that one is focussed upon is how to tame a recalcitrant state, the instability in North East Asia and the danger it poses to regional and global peace will persist. Hence the urgent need to hold comprehensive talks aimed at resolving the primary and secondary causes of the continuing conflict in the Korean Peninsula. The alternative to peace talks is war — a devastating war that will impact upon not only North East Asia but also the rest of the continent and indeed, the world.

The consequences of a second Korean war should be spelt out in detail by the media to those who wield power and authority in the US and the region. Since both the US and North Korea are nuclear armed, a nuclear exchange between them, according to the well-known journalist Eric Margolis with loads of experience in reporting from war zones, “ would expose a third of the world’s economy to nuclear contamination, not to mention spreading nuclear winter around the globe.” He goes on to argue that even a conventional US attack on North Korea “will prove a daunting challenge. US analysts have in the past estimated a US invasion of North Korea would cost some 250,000 American casualties and at least US$10 billion, though I believe such a war would cost four times that much today.” Margolis warns that, “North Korea is unlikely to be a pushover in a war. Even after US and South Korean forces occupy Pyongyang, the North has prepared for a long guerrilla war in the mountains that could last for decades. They have been practising for 30 years. Chaos in North Korea will invite Chinese military intervention …. Will Russia sit by quietly while the US blows apart North Korea? Does anyone in the White House know that North Korea borders Russia and is less than 200km from the key Russian port of Vladivostok?”

The urgency of convening talks cannot be overstated. It is not too late for ASEAN leaders and people to speak with one voice and plead with the six states to re-commence the six party talks immediately.

Dr Chandra Muzaffar is the President of the International Movement for a Just World (JUST)
Two Rockwell B-1B Lancer heavy bombers are flown over the Korean Peninsula by the United States, leading North Korea to accuse the US of preparing for nuclear warfare.