OSAN AIR BASE, South Korea (AP) - The United States has flown nuclear-capable supersonic bombers over ally South Korea in a show of force meant to cow North Korea after its fifth nuclear test and also to settle rattled nerves in the South.
The B-1 bombers, escorted by U.S. and South Korean jets, were seen by an Associated Press photographer as they streaked over the Osan Air Base, which is 120 kilometers (75 miles) from the border with North Korea. The bombers were likely to return to their base in Guam, without landing in South Korea.
Such flyovers are common during tense times. South Korea does not have nuclear weapons and relies on the U.S. "nuclear umbrella" as a deterrent to North Korea.
North Korea says U.S. hostility is the reason it needs a nuclear bomb program.