A pair of US supersonic bombers have flown over the Korean Peninsula, less than 48-hours after North Korea’s successfully tested an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).

Flanked by South Korean fighter jets The B-1 bombers carried out a low-pass over the Osan Air Base, near South Korea's capital Seoul.

The military aircraft took off from the Andersen Air Force Base in Guam and flew to Japanese airspace where they were joined by Japanese F-2 fighter jets, the US Pacific Air Forces said in a statement. They then returned to base.

The US Missile Defense Agency also said a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, system located in Kodiak, Alaska, was successfully tested on Saturday night, Alaska time.

It said that a medium-range ballistic missile was air-launched over the Pacific, and that the THAAD system detected, tracked and intercepted the target, the Associated Press has reported.

US officials have refused to rule out a tough military response to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

“North Korea remains the most urgent threat to regional stability,” General Terrence J O’Shaughnessy, Pacific Air Forces commander said. “Diplomacy remains the lead. However, we have a responsibility to our allies and our nation to showcase our unwavering commitment while planning for the worst-case scenario.”

He added: ”If called upon, we are ready to respond with rapid, lethal, and overwhelming force at a time and place of our choosing.”

The military said the exercise was a direct response to the ICBM tests. The aircrews "practised intercept and formation training" during the 10-hour mission, according to NBC News.

Analysts said that flight data from North Korea’s second ICBM test showed that a larger part of the US mainland is now in range of the missiles. Experts said the weapons had the capability to hit Alaska.

North Korea's Kim Jong-un claimed the ICBM test was a "stern warning" to US President Donald Trump.

In pictures: North Korea hydrogen bomb test Show all 15 1 /15 In pictures: North Korea hydrogen bomb test In pictures: North Korea hydrogen bomb test In pictures: North Korea hydrogen bomb test In pictures: North Korea hydrogen bomb test A lab employee from the Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety's regional office in Gangneung, east of Seoul, checks for radioactive traces in the air, in Gangneung, soon after North Korea announced it successfully conducted a hydrogen bomb test. The office in Gangneung is the closest one to the site of the North's claimed test. Officials said it will take three to four days to analyze air samples in detail for any traces of radioactivity, the Yonhap news agency reported EPA In pictures: North Korea hydrogen bomb test In pictures: North Korea hydrogen bomb test In pictures: North Korea hydrogen bomb test North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un signing a document of a hydrogen bomb test in Pyongyang In pictures: North Korea hydrogen bomb test People watch a TV news program showing North Korea's special announcement at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea AP In pictures: North Korea hydrogen bomb test Kuo Kai-wen, director of Taiwan's Seismology Center, explains the locations from a monitor showing North Korea's first hydrogen bomb test site, in Taipei Getty Images In pictures: North Korea hydrogen bomb test Kuo Kai-wen, director of Taiwan's Seismology Center, points at the curves chart received from Taiwan showing North Korea's first hydrogen bomb test, in Taipei Getty Images In pictures: North Korea hydrogen bomb test In pictures: North Korea hydrogen bomb test In pictures: North Korea hydrogen bomb test South Korean people watch TV news at Seoul station EPA In pictures: North Korea hydrogen bomb test Japan's meteorological agency officer Yohei Hasegawa displays a chart showing seismic activity, after a North Korean nuclear test, at the agency in Tokyo Getty Images In pictures: North Korea hydrogen bomb test Ko Yun-Hwa, administrator of Korea Meteorological Administration, briefs reporters showing seismic waves from the site of North Korea's hydrogen bomb test, at his office in Seoul Getty Images In pictures: North Korea hydrogen bomb test North Korea's border county of Kaepoong is seen from a South Korean observation post in Paju near the Demilitarized zone dividing the two Koreas as North Korea announced it had successfully carried out its first hydrogen bomb test Getty Images

The United States would not be safe from destruction if it tried to attack North Korea, the country's state run KCNA news agency claimed.

“The test-fire reconfirmed the reliability of the ICBM system, demonstrated the capability of making a surprise launch of the ICBM in any region and place any time, and clearly proved that the whole US mainland is in the firing range of the DPRK missiles, (Kim) said with pride,” KCNA, Pyongyang's state-run news outlet stated.

There have been several occasions when the United States sends warplanes out on sorties to the Korean Peninsula. B-1 bombers were flown out in response to North Korea’s banned missile tests.