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United States bombers flew off the east coast of North Korea in a show of strength carried out to demonstrate American military prowess amid escalated tensions between the two countries due to Pyongyang's weapons programs.
"This mission is a demonstration of US resolve and a clear message that the President (Donald Trump) has many military options to defeat any threat," Chief Pentagon Spokesperson Dana W White said in a statement on Saturday.
The US Air Force B-1B Lancer bombers from Guam, along with the force's F-15C Eagle fighter escorts from Okinawa, Japan, flew in international airspace over the waters east of North Korea on Saturday, she said.
The flight came after days of increasingly bellicose rhetoric between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un's regime, as international alarm mounts over Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions.
"This is the farthest north of the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) any US fighter or bomber aircraft have flown off North Korea's coast in the 21st century, underscoring the seriousness with which we take DPRK's reckless behaviour," White said.
She said that 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 Pentagon official said.
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