The United States flew two Stealth practice bombing runs over South Korea on Thursday, an exercise bound to infuriate North Korea which already threatened both countries with nuclear attack.

An official with the U.S. military said two B-2, or Stealth, bombers flew from an air base in Missouri to South Korea as part of Foal Eagle war drills being held with South Korea.

The exercise is not likely to go unnoticed in Pyongyang which has raised its rhetoric against the United States in response to new U.N. sanctions imposed after its third nuclear test in February.

The U.S. military announced on March 15 it was bolstering missile defences in response to threats from the North, including a threat to conduct a preemptive nuclear strike against the United States.

Despite the shrill words, few believe North Korea, formally known as the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, will risk starting a full-out war.

North and South Korea are still technically at war anyway after their 1950-53 civil conflict ended with an armistice, not a treaty, which the North says it has since torn to pieces.

(Reuters)