US Air Force sends message to North Korea with display of air power

(FoxNews.com) - U.S. Air Force officials made it clear to North Korea they were not messing around, launching a surprise military exercise with full combat air power in Japan Wednesday.

The jets in the arsenal of the 18th Wing, which conducted the exercise, include HH-60 Pave Hawks, F-15 Eagles, E-3 Sentries and KC-135 Stratotankers. Military officials call it the Air Force's largest combat-ready wing.

Photos showed a large group of the jets on a runway at Kadena Air Base in Japan.

Meanwhile, China has urged North Korea's opponents not to do anything rash, Reuters reported, despite signs the rogue nation soon may conduct a sixth nuclear test.

"Military force cannot resolve the issue," Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said in Beijing. "Amid challenge there is opportunity. Amid tensions we will also find a kind of opportunity to return to talks."

Satellite imagery showed activity at North Korea's Punggye-ri testing site, a sign the secretive regime could be preparing for another nuclear test, analysts from the U.S. research institute 38 North wrote.

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