US bombers overfly Korean peninsula in show of force Hackers steal classified military documents in Seoul

SEOUL — The US has flown two supersonic heavy bombers over the Korean peninsula in a show of force against Pyongyang, staging the first night-time joint aviation exercises with Japan and South Korea.

Two B-1B Lancers based in Guam flew a mission in the vicinity of the Sea of Japan late on Tuesday, the US Pacific Air Forces said in a statement.

“Flying and training at night with our allies in a safe, effective manner is an important capability shared between the US, Japan and the Republic of Korea and hones the tactical prowess of each nation’s aviators,” Major Patrick Applegate said in a statement.

South Korean defence authorities yesterday said the bombers staged a simulated air-to-ground missile firing drill with two South Korean fighters over the Sea of Japan (East Sea).

The four aircraft then flew across the peninsula and staged another round of a firing exercise over the Yellow Sea before the two B-IBs returned home, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said.

“This drill was part of a routine deployment training aimed at enhancing deterrence” against the North’s nuclear threats, the JCS said in a statement.

“Through the practice this time, South Korean and US air forces showed off the allies’ resolve for strong retaliation against North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats,” it added.

The B-1Bs also conducted exercises with Japan’s Air Force in what the US statement called a “sequenced bilateral mission”.

Tensions over North Korea’s weapons programme have soared in recent months with Pyongyang launching a flurry of missiles and conducting its sixth and most powerful nuclear test in September.

Its actions were in defiance of multiple sets of UN sanctions, prompting US President Donald Trump to threaten military action against the regime. SEOUL — North Korean computer hackers have stolen hundreds of classified military documents from South Korea, including detailed wartime operational plans involving its US ally, a report said on Tuesday.

Rhee Cheol-Hee, a lawmaker for the ruling Democratic party, said the hackers had broken into the South’s military network last September and gained access to 235 gigabytes of sensitive data, the Chosun Ilbo daily reported.

Among the leaked documents was Operational Plans 5015 for use in case of war with the North and including procedures for “decapitation” attacks on leader Kim Jong-Un, the paper quoted Rhee as saying.

Rhee, a member of parliament’s defence committee, could not be reached for comment but his office said he had been quoted correctly.

The report comes amid heightened fears of conflict on the Korean peninsula, fuelled by US President Donald Trump’s continued threats of military action against Pyongyang to tame its weapons ambitions.

In his latest tweet over the weekend, Trump reiterated that diplomatic efforts with North Korea have consistently failed, adding that “only one thing will work”. Citing Seoul’s defence ministry, Rhee said that 80 percent of the leaked documents had yet to be identified.

But the contingency plan for the South’s special forces was stolen, he said, as well as details about annual joint

The exercises came as a US nuclear-powered fastattack submarine, the USS Tuckson, made a call in South Korea’s southern port of Jinhae, the US Pacific Command said. It did not say when the Hawaii-based submarine with a crew of around 150 would depart the peninsula.

The last flight by US bombers was 17 days earlier military drills with the US and information on key military facilities and power plants.

A ministry spokesperson declined to confirm the report, citing intelligence matters. In May the ministry said North Korea had hacked into Seoul’s military intranet but did not say what had been leaked.

Pyongyang has a 6 800-strong unit of trained cyberwarfare specialists, according to the South Korean government. It has been accused of launching highprofile cyber-attacks, including the 2014 hacking of Sony Pictures.

The Chosun Ilbo story was the second report on Tuesday of military-related cyber-attacks in the AsiaPacific. Australia’s government said separately an unidentified defence contractor had been hacked and a “significant amount of data” stolen.

There were 47 000 cyber-incidents in the last 12 months, a 15 percent increase from the previous year, Minister for Cyber Security Dan Tehan said in Canberra as he launched a report by the Cyber Security Centre. The defence contractor was exploited via an internet-facing server, with the cyber-criminals using remote administrative access to remain in its network,” the report said. The Australian newspaper reported that the hacker was based in China but Tehan told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that “we don’t know and we cannot confirm exactly who the actor was”. — Al Jazeera

when four US F-35B stealth fighter jets and two B-1Bs flew over the peninsula.

The North’s missile and nuclear capabilities have made significant progress under leader Kim Jong-Un, who on October 7 told party officials that the country’s atomic weapons were a “treasured sword” to protect it from aggression. — Al Jazeera