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The United States has sent two F-22 Raptor fighter jets to take part military drills in South Korea, a move a Pentagon spokesman told the AP is meant to show U.S. commitment to the defense of the region from its North Korean neighbor.

For years, U.S. policy toward North Korea has been going on the premise that economic sanctions could deter North Korea from developing nuclear weapons. Host Scott Simon talks with David Kang, professor of international relations and business at the University of Southern California, about the state of the North Korean economy.

North Korea's exports include illegal drugs, counterfeit U.S. dollars, and giant statues.

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov's remarks follow a week of tense rhetoric and tit-for-tat military moves between the two sides.

In rare move clearly aimed at North Korea, the U.S. command in the South announced the practice bomb run by the Missouri-based B-2s.

The second hotline to be cut this month was used to operate one of the very few joint ventures between North and South Korea.

Pyongyang says its artillery and ballistic missile units are in full "combat posture" for a possible strike against South Korea or American bases in Guam, Hawaii and the U.S. mainland.

If Pyongyang is the source of a cyberattack against South Korea's computer networks, it wouldn't be the first time.

South Korean officials say they suspect that Pyongyang could be the source of the outage, which affected three broadcasters and two banks.

North Korea has been increasingly hostile, warning of a preemptive nuclear strike on the U.S.