South Korean and U.S. military leaders also discussed the deployment of U.S. “strategic assets” in the wake of the North’s test, Seoul’s Defense Ministry said Thursday.
Ministry officials refused to elaborate about what U.S. military assets were under consideration, but they likely refer to B-52 bombers, F-22 stealth fighters and nuclear-powered submarines.
When animosities sharply rose in the spring of 2013 following North Korea’s third nuclear test, the U.S. took the unusual step of sending its most powerful warplanes — B-2 stealth bombers, F-22 stealth fighters and B-52 bombers — to drills with South Korea in a show of force. B-2 and B-52 bombers are capable of delivering nuclear weapons.
The U.N. Security Council held an emergency session and pledged to swiftly pursue new sanctions against North Korea, saying its test was a ‘clear violation’ of previous U.N. resolutions.
Four rounds of U.N. sanctions have aimed at reining in the North’s nuclear and missile development programs, but Pyongyang has ignored them and moved ahead to modernize its ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons.
When Seoul briefly restarted the loudspeaker broadcasts in August for the first time in 11 years in retaliation for land mine blasts blamed on Pyongyang that maimed two South Korean soldiers, the North threatened to attack the South.
In August, Seoul signed a package of agreements with Pyongyang on easing the standoff, which included a stop to broadcasts unless an “abnormal” situation should occur again. Senior presidential official Cho Tae-yong said Thursday the broadcast will resume because the North’s bomb test was a violation of the August agreement.