Donald Trump to put nuclear bombers on 24-hour alert

Donald Trump is preparing to put US nuclear bombers on 24-hour alert for the first time since the end of the Cold War.

Air Force chief of staff General David Goldfein told Newsweek the move, which comes amid rising tension between North Korea and the US, as well as its neighbours, was “not planning for any specific event, but more for the reality of the global situation we find ourselves in”.

The costly policy of maintaining on-call nuclear-armed B-52s was scrapped by George HW Bush in 1991.

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Yesterday, CIA director Mike Pompeo said North Korea was “on the cusp” of perfecting a nuclear weapon which could strike the US.

In a sign that Pyongyang is becoming increasingly isolated and desperate, North Korea’s Foreign Affairs Committee has written to a number of Western countries aiming to turn them against the US, says the Sydney Morning Herald.

The letter, described by Australian foreign minister Julie Bishop as “unprecedented”, announced the emergence of North Korea as a “fully fledged nuclear power” and urged “sharp vigilance” against the “heinous and reckless” Trump administration.

It also expressed “belief that the parliaments of different countries loving independence, peace and justice will fully discharge their due mission and duty in realising the desire of mankind for international justice and peace with sharp vigilance against the heinous and reckless moves of the Trump administration trying to drive the world into a horrible nuclear disaster”.

Bishop said the letter was a “desperate” attempt to divide the international community and proved that North Korea was feeling isolated.

Pyongyang’s frequent test-firing of missiles in contravention of international treaties has infuriated the US and ratcheted up global tensions. “Even China and Russia, both traditional allies of the DPRK [Democratic People’s Republic of Korea], are believed to have become increasingly frustrated with the secretive country in recent months,” reports The Independent.