Under the direction of the 8th Fighter Wing, 12 F-16 Fighting Falcons from the 176th Fighter Squadron will be flying out of Kunsan Air Base for a four-month rotation, according to a Pacific Air Forces statement. Kunsan lies 112 miles south of Seoul.
The statement said that these deployments, "signify a continued commitment to regional stability and security, while allowing units to train in the Pacific theater,” pointing out that “F-16s routinely deploy throughout the US Pacific Command area of responsibility," Stars and Stripes reports.
"These deployments demonstrate the continued US commitment to fulfill security responsibilities throughout the Western Pacific and to maintain peace in the region," it continued.
An already-difficult environment on the Korean Peninsula was exacerbated last week when the North test-fired what many analysts are calling its second intercontinental ballistic missile.Leader Kim Jong-un claimed the test was evidence that Pyongyang’s weapons could reach the US mainland.
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) is also testing submarine-launched missile systems, and there is suspicion among intelligence and military officials in South Korea that Pyongyang may be making preparation for another nuclear or missile test.
On Monday there were reports of "highly unusual and unprecedented levels" of North Korean submarine activity, with a US defense official telling CNN on Monday that following the North’s most recent missile launch there was evidence of an "ejection test," which analyzes a projectile’s "cold-launch system."
At the same time, South Korean media is reporting that Seoul and Washington are planning to deploy four additional launchers of the controversial Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system (THAAD) within the next month. The launchers had been kept in storage. Two THAAD launchers are already operational in South Korea.
Later this month South Korea and the US are scheduled to commence their annual Ulchi-Freedom Guardian war games. Although Washington maintains that such exercises are purely defensive, North Korea balks at the presence of such drills and the presence of the Washington’s vessels, claiming the exercises are dress rehearsals for an invasion of their country.
US President Donald Trump’s administration has taken an aggressive stance towards Pyongyang, though recently Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said that Washington is not seeking regime change in the DPRK, but that their behavior is still of serious concern.
"We do not seek a regime change, we do not seek the collapse of the regime, we do not seek an accelerated reunification of the peninsula, we do not seek an excuse to send our military north of the 38th parallel," he told reporters on Wednesday. "We're not your enemy, we're not your threat but you're presenting an unacceptable threat to us and we have to respond."
