Supersonic US Bombers Carry Out Drills Over Korean Peninsula

The US has conducted a joint military exercise with South Korea, flying two B-1B supersonic bombers over the Korean peninsula.

The show of force comes amid heightened tensions with North Korea over its nuclear programme.

The combat bombers were joined by two South Korean fighter jets and carried out air-to-ground missile drills off South Korean waters.

Such flights by the powerful aircraft based in Guam incense the North, who claim they are now preparing for war.

The US bombers took flight not long after the news of an alleged cyber attack by the North.

North Korean cyber-hackers are reported to have stolen military documents revealing South Korea and America's tactics if war were to break out in the region.

The secrets are also said to have included a plan to assassinate North Korea's leader, Kim Jong-un.

If confirmed, the reported hacking attack by the North would be a major blow for South Korea at a time when its relations with rival North Korea are at a low point.

The South has taken an increasingly aggressive stance toward the North's belligerence amid back-and-forth threats of war between North Korea and US President Donald Trump.

North Korea's possession of secret war plans would require a major overhaul of how South Korea and its ally Washington would respond if there's another war on the Korean Peninsula.

An unusually aggressive approach to the North by Trump, which has included rhetoric hinting at US strikes and threatening the destruction of North Korea's leadership, has some South Koreans fearful that war is closer than at any time since the Korean War ended in a shaky ceasefire in 1953.

Rep Lee Cheol-hee, a lawmaker for the ruling Democratic Party who sits on the National Defence Committee, cited unidentified defence officials as saying the hackers stole the US-South Korean war plans last year, according to news reports on Tuesday.

Lee did not respond to attempts to confirm the stories. Defence officials refused to comment on Wednesday.

The South's Yonhap news agency quoted Lee as saying that 235 gigabytes of military documents were taken.

While nearly 80% of the documents had not yet been identified, they reportedly included contingency plans for South Korean special forces and information on military facilities and power plants, it said.

Seoul says North Korea has repeatedly staged cyber attacks on South Korean business and government websites. North Korea routinely denies responsibility.

North Korea has yet to comment on either the bombing drills or the hacking claims.