Seoul: A day after North Korea claimed all major US cities are under its missile range, two U.S. Air Force B-1B bombers have flown over the Korean peninsula - a move which can further escalate tension in the region.
The B-1B flight, conducted on Saturday, was in direct response to the missile test and the previous July 3 launch of the "Hwansong-14" rocket, the U.S. Air Force said in a statement on Sunday, Reuters reported.
North Korea has said it conducted another successful test of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) on Friday that proved its ability to strike America's mainland, drawing a sharp warning from U.S. President Donald Trump.
"Threatening the world, these weapons and tests further isolate North Korea, weaken its economy and deprive its people," Trump said in a written statement. "The United States will take all necessary steps to ensure the security of the American homeland and protect our allies in the region."
A combination of US, South Korean and Japanese analyses of the launch from Mupyong-ni, near North Korea's border with China, shows the missile flew about 45 minutes, going 3,700 kilometers (2,300 miles) high and for a distance of 1,000 kilometers (621 miles), according to CNN.
If the missile were fired on a flatter, standard trajectory, it would have major US cities such as Los Angeles, Denver and Chicago well within its range, with the possible ability to reach as far as New York and Boston, according to David Wright, a missile expert at the Union of Concerned Scientists.
However, early analysis of Friday's test cannot determine how heavy a payload the missile was carrying in its warhead, Wright said. The heavier the payload, the shorter the range.
South Korea's joint chiefs of staff said they estimate the missile tested Friday is more advanced than one launched earlier this month based on the range it traveled. Experts had said that test showed Pyongyang had the ability to hit Alaska.
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