An Air Force officer has been honored with a U.S. government medal for his contributions to enhancing the ROK-U.S. combined air defense system, the Air Force said.
Lt. Col. Kim Boo-guk received the Meritorious Service Medal, a rare honor given to a foreign, noncombatant officer, from Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Remington, commander of the U.S. 7th Air Force, in a ceremony, Wednesday.
Kim was cited for the contributions he made while serving as the planning officer of the ROK-U.S. combined Air Force exercises from 2002 to 2004 and as the Korean liaison officer at U.S. Central Command from 2004 to 2005, the Air Force said in a press release.
The U.S. 7th Air Force is located in Osan, Gyeonggi Province. About 28,500 American troops are stationed in South Korea to deter communist North Korea.