REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, The stealthy, nuclear-capable US B-2 bomber is a veteran of wars in Iraq and Libya, but it isn't usually a tool of Washington's statecraft. Yet on March 28, the United States sent a pair of the bat-winged planes on a first-of-its-kind practice run over the skies of South Korea, conducting what US officials say was a diplomatic sortie.

The aim, the officials said, was two-fold: to reassure US allies South Korea and Japan in the face of a string of threats from North Korea, and to nudge Pyongyang back to nuclear talks. 

But whether North Korea's young new leader, Kim Jong-un, interprets the message the way the White House hopes is anybody's guess. His first reaction, according to North Korean state media, was to order his country's missiles ready to strike the United States and South Korea. And now, Kim declared the nation in "state of war" with the South.

According to the manufacture's official site, northropgrumman.com, the US Air Force's B-2 stealth bomber is the flagship of the nation's long-range strike arsenal, and one of the most survivable aircraft in the world. Its stealth characteristics, allow it to penetrate the most sophisticated defenses and hold at risk high value, heavily defended enemy targets. 

The B-2 is the only US aircraft that combines long range, large payload and stealth in a single platform, giving it the ability to project air power anywhere in the world. It can fly more than 6,000 nautical miles unrefueled and more than 10,000 nautical miles with just one aerial refueling. With its ability to carry more than 20 tons of conventional and nuclear ordnance and deliver it precisely under any weather conditions, the B-2 also has the ability to change the outcome of a conflict with a single mission.

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