U.S. says it sent B-2 stealth bombers over South Korea By Jethro Mullen, CNN

U.S. says it sent B-2 stealth bombers over South Korea

By Jethro Mullen, CNN

March 28, 2013 -- Updated 0634 GMT (1434 HKT)

A B-2 Spirit bomber is pictured on December 2 in Chicago, Illinois.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• The planes flew to South Korea and back in one mission, the U.S. says
• It says the flights show its ability "to conduct precision strikes quickly"
• A previous announcement about B-52 flights over South Korea angered the North

(CNN) -- The United States said Thursday it sent stealth bombers to South Korea to participate in annual military exercises amid spiking tensions with North Korea.

The B-2 Spirit bombers flew more than 6,500 miles from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri to South Korea, dropping inert munitions there as part of the exercises, before returning to the U.S. mainland, the U.S Forces in Korea said in a statement.

The mission by the planes, which can carry both conventional and nuclear weapons, "demonstrates the United States' ability to conduct long range, precision strikes quickly and at will," the statement said.

U.S. response to North Korea threats

The U.S. military's announcement earlier this month thatit was flying B-52 bombers over South Korea to participate in the routine exercises prompted an angry reaction from the North, which has unleashed a torrent of threats in the past few weeks.

There was no immediate reaction to the U.S. statement Thursday from the North's state-run Korean Central News Agency.

The disclosure of the B-2 flights comes a day after North Korea said it was cutting off military communications with South Korea, provoking fresh expressions of concern from U.S. officials about Pyongyang's recent rhetoric.