By Kim Eun-jung
SEOUL, April 1 (Yonhap) -- U.S. F-22 stealth jets arrived in South Korea to participate in joint drills, U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) officials said Monday, in the latest show of force against North Korea, which issues daily threats of war amid heightened tensions on the peninsula.

F-22 Raptors were sent from Japan's Kadena air force base to South Korea's Osan Air Base on Sunday to join the training called Foal Eagle to further demonstrate U.S. commitment to jointly deter provocations from Pyongyang, USFK officials said.

The arrival of the radar-evading jets comes after the U.S. sent nuclear-capable air power from its overseas bases, including B-52 bombers and B-2 stealth bombers.

In response to a near-daily series of strident threats against Seoul and Washington, U.S. defense officials had promised all possible resources to provide extended nuclear deterrence on the peninsula.

In a fresh round of threats, North Korea's state media said Saturday that inter-Korean relations have entered into a state of war and all cross-border issues will be dealt with in a wartime manner.

The warning came a day after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un put strategic rocket units on standby, threatening to strike targets in South Korea, the U.S. mainland, and its military bases in Hawaii and Guam, in anger over nuclear-capable U.S. B-2 stealth bombers that participated in joint military drills in the South.

About 28,500 American forces are stationed in South Korea as a deterrence against North Korea, as the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a truce, not a peace treaty.

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