The US Department of Defense decided to send the B-1B strategic bomber to participate in US-South Korean exercises on Saturday, while the UN Security Council failed to condemn North Korea's missile tests.

A South Korean defense ministry official said a US B-1B strategic bomber will take part in the ongoing joint air exercises on Saturday, in a show of force after North Korea's missile launches.

The official said that the bomber is scheduled to participate in the exercises in the afternoon (local time), without elaborating on further details.

And the South Korean army said - yesterday, Friday - that it hastened to send fighter planes, after it spotted about 180 North Korean warplanes flying north of the military border over a period of 4 hours.

The military added in a statement that the North Korean planes flew north of the so-called tactical measure line, which was drawn up to 20 kilometers north of the military demarcation line.

Seoul sent 80 aircraft - including F-35A stealth fighters - in response.


joint maneuvers

The tension on the Korean peninsula coincides with air exercises between the United States and South Korea, the largest in the history of the relationship between the two countries.

On Thursday, Seoul and Washington extended their largest-ever joint military exercises until Saturday, in response to North Korean missile launches.

Shortly after South Korea announced the decision to extend the joint exercises, Pyongyang launched three more short-range ballistic missiles, describing the move as "very dangerous and (representing) the wrong choice."

Hours later, the northern part fired 80 artillery shells that landed in the sea's "buffer zone," according to Seoul's army.

During a meeting in Washington, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and his South Korean counterpart pledged to take new measures, in response to what he described as repeated North Korean provocations.

Austin warned that any nuclear attack on the United States or its allies and partners would cause the end of Kim Jong Un's regime.


Dangerous choice

On the other hand, Pyongyang considered the extension of the exercises "a very dangerous and bad option."

On Wednesday, Pyongyang described the exercises, which it called "Vigilant Storm" as "provocative and hostile", threatening Seoul and Washington "to pay the biggest price in history."

North Korea views the military exercises between the United States and South Korea as exercises to invade its territory or overthrow its regime.

In September, North Korea made changes to its nuclear doctrine, allowing it to carry out pre-emptive strikes in the event of an existential threat to Kim Jong Un's regime.

The new doctrine states that if the "command and control system" of North Korea's nuclear "is at risk of attack by hostile forces, a nuclear strike will be launched automatically and immediately."


Security Council

In a related context, the division of the UN Security Council has prevented a resolution condemning North Korea's repeated missile tests, or any action against the rising tensions on the Korean peninsula.

The 15 members of the United Nations' most powerful body did not agree on a joint statement Friday in New York.

Instead, a number of countries - including the United States, Britain and France - have separately condemned Pyongyang's missile tests.

According to the South Korean military, North Korea has already tested more than 25 missiles this week, including an ICBM with a range of several thousand kilometers.

Observers also fear that North Korea's first nuclear test in years is imminent.

The US delegate to the UN Security Council, Linda Thomas Greenfield, condemned North Korea's recent missile launch, and hinted that China and Russia would provide diplomatic protection to Pyongyang in the Security Council, without explicitly mentioning them.

Greenfield called on Council members to fulfill their responsibilities to protect international peace and security.

In turn, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on all parties concerned on the Korean peninsula to calm down and create an environment conducive to dialogue, with the aim of achieving sustainable peace in the region.

Guterres strongly condemned North Korea's launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile and a number of different missiles during the past two days.

On the other hand, Chinese Ambassador Zhang Jun criticized the military exercises between the United States and South Korea in Friday's session, which are fueling the spiral of escalation.

However, he also stressed that Beijing is clearly opposed to any nuclear armament on the Korean Peninsula.