North Korea: US Carried Out ‘Surprise’ Strike Drill Thursday

B-1B Bombers From Guam Escorted by Fighter Jets

North Korea’s state news agency has reported that the US carried out a simulated bombing attack on their nation with B-1B Lancer bombers from Guam. The simulated attack was carried out as part of a “surprise” drill.

The US has conducted several simulated bombing attacks on North Korea in recent months, and is with previous ones, the B-1B bombers were escorted by South Korean fighter jets. Unlike previous attacks, however, there appears to have been no previous announcement that this was happening.

Not making a simulated attack public beforehand is an extremely risky tactic, especially given the extreme amount of tension on the Korean Peninsula, and the number of times President Trump has threatened to attack North Korea recently. If North Korea saw the drill as a real attack, and not a simulation, they might’ve retaliated and resulted in a huge war.

The Air Force issued a statement on the matter, confirming the operation, and insisting it was “planned in advance.” They did not, however, dispute that they didn’t tell anyone in the region that the drill was forthcoming.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.