RUSSIA and the US have both flown nuclear bombers near North Korea as tensions grow over tyrant Kim Jong-un's atomic threats.

President Donald Trump sent a nuclear-capable B-2 stealth bomber from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri on a long-range mission to the Pacific this weekend.

4 The US military sent a nuclear-capable B-2 stealth bomber to the Pacific area of operations. File picture Credit: Getty - Contributor

4 US and Japanese jets escorted Russia’s missile-carrying Tupolev-95MS strategic bombers during their flights. File pictures Credit: Getty - Contributor

How big is North Korea's army and what missiles does Kim Jong-un have?

And the Russian Defence Ministry today announced that US and Japanese jets escorted Russia’s missile-carrying Tupolev-95MS strategic bombers during flights over the Sea of Japan and the Pacific.

A spokesman said: "Two strategic bombers Tupolev-95MS of Russia’s Aerospace Force have carried out routine flights over international waters of the Sea of Japan and the western part of the Pacific Ocean.

"At certain sections of the route the Tupolev-95MS crews were accompanied by a pair of F-18 fighters (of the US Air Force), and a pair of F-15, F-4 and F-2A fighters (of the Japanese Air Force)."

The threat of nuclear missile attack by North Korea is accelerating, US defence secretary Jim Mattis warned at the weekend.

U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis says he cannot see America accepting North Korea as a new nuclear superpower

4 Kim Jong-un has vowed to grow his nation's nuclear arsenal Credit: AFP - Getty

Mattis made his remarks as he accused the North's leader Kim Jong-un of "illegal and unnecessary missile and nuclear programmes".

Speaking in Seoul alongside South Korean defence minister Song Young-moo, he warned: "North Korea has accelerated the threat that it poses to its neighbours and the world."

Because of this, he said, military collaboration between the US and South Korea had taken on "a new urgency".

Mattis added: "Any use of nuclear weapons by the North will be met with a massive military response."

The news came shortly before reports emerged of a tunnel collapse at an underground nuclear test site, prompting fears of a radioactive leak.

The North says it needs nuclear weapons to counter US efforts to strangle its economy and overthrow the Kim government.

4 President Trump has traded angry insults with North Korea Credit: AFP or licensors

US bombers and fighter jets sent ​close to North Korea​n borders​ in show of force

Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg called North Korea a "global threat" today and said he backed tighter sanctions against it during a visit to Japan, which has been targeted by Pyongyang's provocations.

Stoltenberg is in Tokyo to meet Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and other senior officials including defence minister Itsunori Onodera later in the day.

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