The US had planned to send 12 A-10 attack aircraft to South Korea to temporarily replace 20 Apache attack helicopters headed for redeployment in Iraq and Afghanistan. But two sides changed that plan because of required maintenance for the A-10 aircraft, South Korea's Defense Ministry spokesman Won Tae-jae told reporters.
The F-16s will be in place in March before the Apache helicopters depart to ensure no gap in capability, the U.S military said.
"Due to increased requirements for inspections and repairs to the A-10 fleet, the F-16s will be deployed rotationally to Korea instead of the previously announced A-10 rotation," the military said in a statement.
Army Gen Walter Sharp, commander of US forces in Korea, said the deployment of F-16s "will provide an enhanced deterrent capability on the Korean peninsula," it said.
The US military said it remains committed to the defense of South Korea. Washington has about 28,500 troops in the South as a deterrence against communist North Korea.
The two Koreas technically remain at war because their 1950-53 Korean conflict ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty.
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