WASHINGTON: The United States (US) on Wednesday approved a $5 billion sale of F-35 fighter jets to South Korea. The development comes as tensions soar with North Korea.
Washington Approves $5 Billion Sale of F-35 Fighter-Jets to South Korea
The US State Department informed the US Congress that it had given the green light to the sale of twenty-five fighter jets, engines and related equipment, AFP reported.
Earlier, on September 8, the United States, South Korea and Japan condemned North Korea’s latest test of missiles and vowed to expedite missile tracking cooperation, South Korea said.
In a statement, South Korea’s Ministry of National Defence said that Seoul, Tokyo and Washington jointly denounced North Korea’s recent test of missiles and also made an agreement to accelerate missile tracking cooperation. Reuters reported that the three countries’ Ministers for Defence also agreed to conduct training in the future as part of defence steps against North Korea’s nuclear threats.
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Washington and Tokyo also condemned North Korea’s attempted spy satellite launch. In a statement, the White House denounced North Korea’s attempted launch and termed it a violation of the United Nations Security Council resolutions.
Similarly, Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida condemned North Korea’s attempted satellite launch. Fumio Kishida told the media, “By broadly measuring all factors, we have confirmed and consider it a failure. However, the Prime Minister said that this was the violation of the UN resolutions and “we are already firmly protesting.”
