US approves $6.8b sale of F-35 jets to South Korea
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The US has given the green light for the sale of 25 of the aircraft made by Lockheed Martin, as well as engines and related equipment.
PHOTO: AFP
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WASHINGTON – The United States on Wednesday approved a US$5 billion (S$6.8 billion) sale to South Korea of F-35s, top-of-the-line fighter jets with stealth capacity, as tensions soar with North Korea.
The US State Department informed Congress that it had given the green light for the sale of 25 of the aircraft made by Lockheed Martin, as well as engines and related equipment.
The sale “will improve the Republic of Korea’s capability to meet current and future threats by providing credible defence capability to deter aggression in the region and ensure interoperability with US forces”, said a statement from the department.
“The proposed sale of this equipment and support will not alter the basic military balance in the region.”
South Korea has operated F-35s since 2018. The US approves sale of the jets only to its closest partners, with Turkey booted from the F-35 programme after a major purchase from Russia of a missile defence system.
The sale comes as tensions keep spiralling with North Korea, which carried out its latest missile tests just as leader Kim Jong Un visited Russia
The United States has stepped up three-way cooperation with Japan and South Korea, allies that are home to US troops but were frequently at odds with each other over historical disputes until overtures made by South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol.
At a summit in August at the Camp David presidential resort
