US Deploys Stealth Jets in Korea Show of Force

In a move seen as a clear warning to Pyongyang, the US deployed F-22 stealth fighter jets during joint military exercises yesterday. The Raptors, which are among the most advanced weapons the Air Force has at its command, would probably be the first aircraft deployed if a conflict did take place with North Korea, the Wall Street Journal reports. The show of force follows weeks of saber-rattling from Pyongyang, which declared over the weekend that it is now in a "state of war" with the South and compared the US to a "boiled pumpkin" unable to withstand attack.

The Central Committee of North Korea's ruling Workers’ Party convened for the first time in around 20 years and nuclear weapons were high on the agenda, the New York Times reports. Kim Jong Un presided over the meeting and vowed to expand the country's nuclear arsenal "both in quality and quantity, as long as the United States’ nuclear threat continues." Officials called North Korea's nuclear weapons a "treasure" that would not be traded even for "billions of dollars" if talks with other powers resume. (More South Korea stories.)