The U.S. military has made yet another show of strength against North Korea, flying nuclear-capable B-52 bombers over the Korean peninsula during a joint aerial drill with South Korea.
The joint drill took place Wednesday as the US government continues to North Korea is preparing another nuclear test.
It was the first B-52 deployment in the region in a month.
US OPENS DRILLS WITH SOUTH KOREA, JAPAN AS NORTH KOREA BLUSTERS
The aerial drills are only one facet of a multidimensional campaign to flex U.S.-South Korean military might near their northern adversary.
The U.S. and its allies began naval anti-submarine drills Monday, their first joint exercise in six months.
NORTH KOREA THREATENS RETALIATION FOR US-SOUTH KOREA MILITARY DRILLS: NOT ‘EMPTY TALK’
South Korea’s defense ministry says the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier participated in the drill alongside destroyers from all three countries.
Submarine-launched missiles are much harder to track than ground or even air-launched missiles due to the uncertainty of where a submarine could launch the missile.
North Korea threatened retaliation ahead of Monday’s drills this weekend, vowing that it was not making “empty talk.”
The rhetoric came in a statement published by the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), which condemned South Korea and the United States for the joint 11-day Freedom Shield exercise held last month.
“Their war hysteria is running up to the climax along with the start of Ssangyong, a joint landing drill,” the statement read.
Last month, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called on his country to be ready to launch a nuclear attack to deter war. His comments came after a flurry of missile launches, which saw North Korea testing its capabilities.
Fox News’ Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report.
