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US Air Force F-22 Raptor stealth fighter jets land at Kwangju Air Base this past December 4 after the South Korea-US joint air exercise Vigilant Ace. (Yonhap News)

The US Air Force’s most powerful stealth fighter, the F-22 Raptor, has arrived in South Korea to take part in exercises next week.

When asked about the F-22 arrival on May 1, a military official explained, “The annual spring South Korea-US joint air exercise Max Thunder is taking place from May 11 to 25, and several F-22 aircraft have arrived at Kwangju Air Base to participate in that exercise.”

Considered the most powerful fighter in existence, the F-22 has seldom visited South Korea. Six F-22 aircraft took part in the joint South Korea-US air exercise Vigilant Ace last December while military tensions were running high in the wake of North Korea’s test launch of the Hwasong-15 ICBM, but this marks the first time they are taking part in Max Thunder. Around eight F-22 fighters are reported to have arrived in South Korea.

The F-22 fighters’ participation in the exercises is drawing particular notice for coming just after an inter-Korean summit, with a North Korea-US summit expected to come in late May or early June. The situation is seen as unusual, with the US’s most powerful aircraft deployed at a time when the chief mood on the Korean Peninsula is one of dialogue and efforts toward peace rather than military confrontation. A military official cautioned against reading political meaning into the aircraft’s presence, explaining that exercises are “something we always have to do regardless of the political situation.”

The announcement of the F-22 fighters’ arrival reportedly came after a chance discovery that day by enthusiasts.

“A citizen took a picture of an F-22 flying in the skies over Gwangju this afternoon and posted it on an internet community page, which is apparently how it became known that the F-22 had arrived in South Korea,” a military official said.

Over 100 aircraft will reportedly be taking part in the two-week-long Max Thunder exercises, including the South Korean Air Force’s F-15K and the US Air Force’s F-22 and F-16.

By Park Byong-su, Senior staff writer

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