On Tuesday, Dec. 20, the United States flew nuclear bombers and advanced stealth aircraft in a show of force against North Korea, as North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's influential sister ridiculed doubts about her country's military capabilities and threatened a full-scale ICBM test.. AP reports..

The deployment of U.S. B-52 bombers and F-22 stealth fighter jets for joint exercises with South Korean warplanes was part of an agreement to defend Seoul by all available means, including nuclear weapons, the South Korean Defense Ministry said..

The exercises, in which the F-35 and F-15 fighters of South Korea also took part, took place in the water area southwest of Jeju Island. US F-22 fighter jets have been deployed to South Korea for the first time in four years and will remain this week for training with South Korean forces, the report said..

The exercise came after North Korea said it had launched a test satellite to develop its first military spy satellite and also tested a solid propellant engine..

North Korea has already fired a record number of missiles this year as a warning of previous U.S.-South Korean military exercises it sees as preparation for an invasion.. There are fears that the DPRK may respond to the latest allied air exercises with a new round of missile tests.

Earlier Tuesday, Kim Jong-un's sister Kim Yo-jeong used a slew of tongue-in-cheek terms like "

North Korea said its rocket launches on Sunday, December 18, were systems tests for the first military reconnaissance satellite, and released two photos of South Korean cities taken from space. Some experts in South Korea and elsewhere said the photos were too fuzzy for surveillance purposes and that the launches were likely cover for North Korea's missile tests.. South Korean military claims North Korea fired two medium-range ballistic missiles.

Kim Yo Jung said that a commercial camera was installed on the satellite because there was no reason to use an expensive camera for a one-time test.. According to her, North Korea used two old rockets as space launch vehicles..

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North Korea regularly carries out nuclear provocations by launching missiles towards Japan and South Korea. This increases the tension in the region and forces the neighbors, who are conducting military exercises together with the United States, to react.. Kim Jong-un's goal is to create " After testing a new intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) Hwasong-17, Kim Jong-un said he would counter US nuclear threats with nuclear weapons.