S. Korea to deploy fighter jets if North Korea provokes in Yellow Sea

By Sam Kim
SEOUL, June 3 (Yonhap) -- South Korea will not refrain from launching a fleet of
advanced fighter jets to retaliate against North Korea if the communist neighbor
provokes an armed conflict along their western sea border, its Air Force said
Wednesday.
Tension runs high in the Yellow Sea after North Korea warned last week it will
not guarantee the safety of U.S. and South Korean naval vessels operating near
the Northern Limit Line (NLL).
The NLL was drawn by a U.S. commander at the end of the 1950-53 Korean War that
ended in a truce, and North Korea has repeatedly said this year that it should be
drawn further south.
Two naval skirmishes already erupted near the NLL in 1999 and 2002. The Air Force
said in a release it will respond "promptly and sternly" respond with its fighter
jets if North Korea attempts another attack.
"F-15Ks will lead the operation if North Korea makes an armed provocation along
the NLL," it said, adding KF-16s, F-4s and F-5s will also be deployed.
South Korea currently operates two squadrons of F-15K, variants of U.S. F-15E
Strike Eagles, according to the Air Force. They carry up to 10 tons of weapons,
about twice the amount mounted on other fighter jets operated by South Korea.
Their weapons include radar-guided anti-ship SLAM-ER missiles that have a maximum
range of 270 km, according to the Air Force.
samkim@yna.co.kr
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