The United States flew four surveillance planes over the Korean peninsula Wednesday after North Korea's threats to give Washington a "Christmas gift" if concessions were not made in nuclear talks, according to an aviation tracker.
Four aircraft, a RC-135W Rivet Joint, E-8C, RQ-4 Global Hawk and RC-135S Cobra Ball, were flown over between Tuesday and early Wednesday, reports South Korea's Yonhap news agency.
The agency reported the planes are also believed to have carried out missions in and around the Korean Peninsula.
Earlier this year, talks between U.S. and North Korean officials stalled after a summit between President Donald Trump and North Korea's Chairman Kim Jong Un. Yonhap reported the flyovers were an unusual move and were carried out in response to the threat.
North Korea, meanwhile, is reported to have carried out two rocket engine tests at a regional satellite site, claiming the results will mark an "important impact" on the country's position, and military sources confirmed South Korea and the U.S. have shored up their efforts in the event North Korea fires a missile or uses weapons.
Trump joked Tuesday that Kim could send him a "nice" present rather than carrying out a missile test.
"We'll see what happens," Trump told reporters in Florida. "Maybe it's a nice present. maybe it's a present where he sends me a beautiful vase as opposed to a missile test."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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