South Korea will take delivery of two F-35A stealth fighter aircraft from the U.S. by the end of March,... a milestone in the country's efforts to boost its defense capabilities.
Sources say the fighters will be deployed around April or May.
The F-35As are expected to play a key role in South Korea's pre-emptive strike system against possible North Korean missile provocations.
In 2014, the South Korean Air Force agreed to purchase 40 F-35As for six-point-six billion U.S. dollars.