US deploys nuclear B-52 bombers & stealth jets after North Korea missile test as Kim vows his enemies will ‘suffer’ | The Sun

THE US and South Korea staged chilling air drills with B-52 bombers following Kim Jong-un's sinister missile launch.

The formidable planes flew close to the North Korea peninsula as the United States and South Korea deployed their fleets earlier today.

The swarm of B-52 bombers and F-35 fighter jets gathered ominously in the sky in a show of strength against North Korea after Kim Jong-un's launch of a new type of missile.

"We will strike with deadly force and respond aggressively until the enemy gives up its idle strategy and foolish behaviour and so that it will suffer in endless fear," raged Kim.

The drills “show the strong resolve of the South Korea-U.S. alliance and its perfect readiness to respond to any provocation by North Korea swiftly and overwhelmingly,” said Lieutenant General Park Ha Sik, commander of the South Korean air force operation command.

The South Korean and U.S. militaries have recently been expanding their combined military exercises in response to North Korea's nuclear and missile threats.

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But North Korea deems these drills provocative, showing their rivals' intention of attacking the North.

A day after the last flight by a B-52 bomber to the peninsula on March 6, Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, warned that her country was ready to take “quick, overwhelming action” against the United States and South Korea.

This comes after Kim Jong-un test fired a new solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) on Thursday morning.

North Korea's powerful new rocket will "constantly strike extreme uneasiness and horror" into enemies, Kim Jong-un warned.

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Most of the country's largest ballistic missiles use liquid fuel, which requires them to be loaded with propellant at their launch site – a time-consuming and dangerous process.

The Hwasong-18, however, is a new solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile that state media said had been tested to "radically promote" North Korea's nuclear counterattack capability.

It is seen as making it easier for the dictator to launch a full-scale nuclear strike.

Footage shows the missiles blasting into the sky while pictures show the tyrant and his young daughter watching on.

The missile, fired from near Pyongyang, flew about 1,000 km before landing in waters east of North Korea, according to officials.

South Korea's defence ministry said North Korea was still developing the weapon, and that it needed more time and effort to master the technology, indicating that Pyongyang might carry out more tests.

Analysts said it is the North's first use of solid propellants in an intermediate-range or intercontinental ballistic missile.

Developing a solid-fuel ICBM has long been seen as a key goal for North Korea, as it could help the North deploy missiles faster during a war.

And just a day before, North Korea fired a stealth ballistic missile in what has been branded a "grave provocation" as it sparked a mass evacuation in Japan.

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said the missile was launched from a high angle near the North Korean capital of Pyongyang.

It then fell into the waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan following a 1,000km flight.

The launch prompted Japan to issue an evacuation order on a northern island.

It read: "Immediately evacuate inside the building or underground.

"The missile is expected to fall around Hokkaido around 08:00."

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Schools in Hokkaido delayed their opening times and some train services were suspended, Japanese broadcaster NHK reported.

The order was later retracted, however.

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