By Jun Ji-hye

North Korea reaffirmed Thursday that it will complete its nuclear and missile programs in defiance of international pressure and sanctions.

The North's Rodong Sinmun newspaper claimed in its editorial that the United States and its allies will see how the North achieves its goal of completing its nuclear forces despite their sanctions, blockades and military measures.

The newspaper also criticized the recent dispatch of U.S. Air Force B-1B strategic bombers to the Korean Peninsula and Washington's plan to send the USS Ronald Reagan to waters near the peninsula for combined exercises with the South Korean Navy.

The editorial came two days after two U.S. B-1B Lancer bombers flew over the peninsula in an exercise with South Korea's F-15K fighters, in yet another show of force to the North amid growing concerns over its additional military provocations.

The aircraft conducted simulated air-to-ground missile firing drills over the East and West seas, according to Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff.

The U.S. last month also flew the bombers further north of the Demilitarized Zone than any other American warplanes this century.

Military officials here noted that the aircraft strike group, led by the nuclear-powered USS Ronald Reagan, plans to operate in the East Sea around Oct. 15 for combined drills to detect, track and intercept North Korean ballistic missiles, in addition to anti-submarine warfare training.

The North's newspaper denounced those measures as a rehearsal to invade the Kim Jong-un regime.

It said that North Korea's nuclear program cannot be a subject for negotiations.

North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho told Russian state news agency Tass Wednesday that the North's nuclear weapons are a "sword of justice."

Ri, accusing U.S. President Donald Trump of "setting a fuse of war" with his bellicose remarks, said his country's strategic forces have "inexhaustible power that won't leave aggressor state America unpunished" and that its nuclear weapons represent a deterrent to protect Pyongyang.

In his United Nations address last month, Trump threatened to "totally destroy" the Kim regime. In response, Kim vowed to take the "highest-level" action.

Amid growing concerns over the North's provocations, the militaries of South Korea and the U.S. have stepped up reconnaissance operations and are monitoring and tracking any developments in the North, according to officials here.