Kang Seung-woo is the Business Desk editor at The Korea Times. Prior to this position, he covered politics, national affairs, finance and sports.
F-22 jets join US-ROK joint exercise
F-22 Raptor
By Kang Seung-woo
By Kang Seung-woo
The U.S. Air Force’s air show-like displays of advanced military might seem to have reached fever pitch, with the deployment of two F-22 stealth fighter jets to the ongoing joint Korean-U.S. military exercise in a further showcase of the U.S. commitment to defend South Korea.
The United States Forces Korea (USFK) said Monday that the F-22 Raptors arrived Sunday at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, from Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, Japan, as part of the Foal Eagle exercise. The annual military maneuver is scheduled to continue until April 30.
The USFK declined to comment on the details of the aircrafts’ participation in the drill. The advanced tactical fighters were also flown to Korea in July 2010 as part of the joint exercise.
The F-22, capable of evading radar and air defense systems, is the only fighter capable of simultaneously conducting air-to-air and air-to-ground combat missions. Washington has deployed the hard-to-detect aircrafts in Japan and the United Arab Emirates in efforts to deter North Korea and Iran, respectively.
Ahead of the arrival of the F-22s, the United States dispatched nuclear-capable B-52 and B-2 bombers amid North Korea’s near-daily run of menacing threats of an all-out war.
In addition, the USS Cheyenne, a nuclear-powered attack submarine, arrived in Busan last month in a muscular show of U.S. military might.
Tensions on the Korean Peninsula have been running high since the North launched a long-range missile in December and conducted its third nuclear test in February.
In the face of stepped-up U.N. sanctions, the Kim Jong-un regime declared the armistice void and threatened to strike against Hawaii and Guam as well as the U.S. mainland.
On Saturday, the reclusive Stalinist state announced it has entered a state of war with the South and threatened to shut down the Gaeseong Industrial Complex ― the last major symbol of inter-Korean cooperation.
Despite the intensifying threats, the majority view of experts is that the world’s most isolated country is unlikely to wage war against the South and the United States.
However, a U.S. lawmaker said North Korea’s statement may not end in only rhetoric without action.
“Kim Jong-un is trying to establish himself. He’s trying to be the tough guy. He is 28, 29 years old, and he keeps going further and further out, and I don’t know if he can get himself back in,” Rep. Peter King (R-NY) said in an interview with ABC News on Sunday.
“So my concern would be that he may feel to save face he has to launch some sort of attack on South Korea, or some base in the Pacific.”