SEOUL (Dispatches) -- North Korean state media have sharply criticized a recent practice bombing run by two U.S. B-1B bombers on the Korean peninsula, calling it a dangerous move raising the risk of nuclear war.
A commentary Sunday in the ruling party's Rodong Sinmun newspaper accused the U.S. of "reckless military provocations" and said the danger of nuclear war is reaching an extreme pitch. The commentary was reported on in English by the state Korean Central News Agency.
"The U.S., with its dangerous military provocation, is pushing the risk of a nuclear war on the peninsula to a tipping point,” it said.
The article, published under the title "Don’t play with fire on a powder keg,” described the Korean Peninsula as the "world’s biggest tinderbox.”
Two U.S. Air Force bombers released inert weapons Friday on a training range in South Korea. South Korean F-15 and U.S. F-16 fighter jets joined them in the drill. The bombers also flew with Japanese F-2 fighter jets over the East China Sea on their way back to Andersen Air Force Base in Guam.
The 10-hour mission came three days after North Korea tested an intercontinental ballistic missile on Fourth of July, America's Independence Day.
Pyongyang described the joint drill as a "dangerous military gambit of warmongers who are trying to ignite the fuse of a nuclear war on the peninsula.”
"A small misjudgment or error can immediately lead to the beginning of a nuclear war, which will inevitably lead to another world war,” the Sunday editorial read.

Trump Friendly With Xi

Trump took a conciliatory tone on Saturday at a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping where the leaders agreed to keep working on North Korea’s nuclear issue and bilateral trade irritants.
"It's an honor to have you as a friend," Trump told Xi. U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the Trump-Xi meeting lasted over an hour-and-a-half, and they had "substantive discussions" about how to deal with North Korea together.
Xinhua said Xi stressed to Trump China's position that it adheres to the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula and maintaining peace and stability there.
While China has been angered by North Korea's repeated nuclear and missile tests, it also blames the United States and South Korea for worsening tension with their military exercises.
Xi also reiterated China's opposition to the U.S. deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-missile system in South Korea, Xinhua said. China says THAAD threatens its security, despite U.S. and South Korean assurances it is aimed only at defending against North Korea.