The arrival of the F-22 fighter jets in South Korea has been the latest in a series of moves
by the U.S. military after North Korea's recent provocations.
These are all leading up to next month's joint South Korea-U.S. military drills.
Kwon Jang-ho introduces us to these strategic weapons and what their presences means for
both South Korea's and their neighbouring countries.
After North Korea's recent missile launch and the nuclear bomb test in January, the
U.S. has been quick to move its military assets to the Korean peninsula, on land, sea and
air, in an apparent show of force.
In the air, the crown jewel in the U.S. air force, four F-22 stealth fighter jets, flew
over South Korean airspace on Wednesday.
Lockheed Martin’s F-22 Raptor is a powerful aircraft capable of 360-degree midair rotations
and can clock up to 8,000 flight hours.
It is only one of few aircraft units that can supercruise, or keep up supersonic flight,
and can fly at a maximum speed of 2,400 kilometers per hour.
The F-22's stealth technology and high-tech features are so advanced, the jet cannot be
exported by U.S. federal law.
Before that a B-52 bomber, capable of carrying 32 tons of weapons, flew over the peninsula
in January.
B-2 stealth bombers are also expected to arrive in the next few weeks.
"The F-22 is considered one of the best fighter jets in the world.
It's stealth abilities are the model's biggest assets.
With it's radar capabilities and weapons, the F-22 is a weapon that can be a great show
of force against North Korea."
At the sea, the attack submarine USS North Carolina arrived in the port city of Busan,
south of the country, on Tuesday for joint training.
Carrying a crew of 130 people, it can launch Tomahawk cruise missiles and Mark 48 torpedoes.
The nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis is to participate in an annual
South Korea-U.S. defense drill in March.
The supercarrier is the size of three-football fields, capable of carrying 90 F-16 fighter
jets and helicopters, and a crew of 5,000.
And finally on the ground, the U.S. has added an extra battery of patriot missiles over
the weekend.
The ground-to-air missile defense system is able to intercept short to mid-range missiles.
Altogether it's a formidable combined force that is being gathered against North Korea
on top of the 30-thousand troops that are already stationed in South Korea.
"This show of force is not only a preventive measure against another North Korean provocation,
...but also, efforts by the U.S. to put pressure on the international community to push through
talks of sanctions at the UN Security Council."
All this is leading up to next month's joint South Korea-U.S. military exercises, the Key
Resolve and Foal Eagle.
It will be the biggest joint military drills the two nations have ever performed, and even
before North Korea's recent actions, they had already generated tension with the regime.
But it remains difficult to predict how the North will react.
"North Korea could show further shows-of-strength before or after the Key Resolve drills, such
as another rocket launch or a missile launch from the sea...but chances are, rather than
retaliating to the U.S.'s pressure, the regime will want to avoid conflict, and perhaps even
suggest opening talks."
The U.S.'s show of strength has also had effects on neighboring nations.
China on Wednesday mobilized surface-to-air missiles to their man-made, territorially
disputed islands in the South China Sea.
This comes as U.S. president Obama met with ASEAN leaders at a summit in California, with
the South China Sea territorial disputes being one of the key agenda on the table...
but the deployment of the missile launchers were also thought to be in response to the
U.S.'s military movements in the Korean peninsula.
"The U.S.'s deployment and development of strategic weapons are seen as threats by China.
...In other words, it can be seen that through North Korea's nuclear tests and missile launches,
the Korean peninsula as well as the Northeast Asia region as a whole, have been put in the
middle of U.S.-China power games."
Kwon Jang-Ho, Arirang News.