US delivers further force to South Korea

By Alex Jensen

SEOUL

The United States reaffirmed its "ironclad commitment" to defending South Korea Wednesday, as four stealth tactical fighter aircraft soared over the peninsula.

Two of the F-22 Raptors are to remain in the country for an undetermined period after flying into Osan Air Base south of Seoul from Okinawa, Japan.

"The F-22 Raptor is the most capable air superiority fighter in the world and it represents one of many capabilities available for the defense of this great nation," U.S. Forces Korea deputy commander Lt. Gen. Terrence O'Shaughnessy said in a statement.

With nearly 30,000 American military personnel already stationed in the South, the deployment of the aircraft came just over a week after North Korea defied United Nations resolutions by launching a rocket.

Such is the fearsome reputation of the F-22 Raptor, that the fighter's involvement in a South Korean-U.S. military exercise in late 2010 reportedly scared former North Korean leader Kim Jong-il into hiding.

The Joongang Sunday previously claimed that Kim -- the late father of current head of state Kim Jong-un -- spent nine days in an underground bunker to escape the threat posed by the aircraft.

As Pyongyang is bent on advancing its own weapon capabilities, having also carried out a fourth ever nuclear test earlier this year, the UN Security Council is expected to soon hit North Korea with stronger sanctions than those already in force.