AFP, SEOUL: A squadron of US Air Force F-15E fighters based in Alaska will fly to South Korea next month for temporary deployment aimed at enhancing US firepower on the Korean peninsula, US authorities said Monday.
The US jets will stay in South Korea for up to three months of training “to get accustomed to geographical features of the peninsula”, a US military spokesman said.
For similar training, the United States deployed a squadron of F-117A stealth fighters in South Korea in June. “The deployment is part of US military enhancement plans announced earlier,” he said.
He was apparently referring to US promises to enhance its air and sea capabilities to defend South Korea, having unveiled plans to slash its number of troops in South Korea by one third by next year.
About 33,900 US troops are currently stationed in South Korea after 3,600 left for Iraq last week for a year-long mission.
US officials insist any withdrawal, made as part of a global review designed to produce a more agile fighting force, will not weaken its deterrent against North Korea.
The troop realignment, however, sparked security jitters among South Koreans amid an unresolved showdown with Pyongyang over its nuclear weapons program.
US ground troops based close to the border with North Korea have served as a guarantee since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War that any invasion of the South would immediately draw in the United States.
North Korea has denounced Washington's plan to realign US forces in South Korea as a plot to attack the communist country.
