Pentagon approves sale of Lockheed or Boeing fighters to South Korea

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Defence Department on Wednesday said it has approved the sale of either the Lockheed Martin Corp F-35 stealth fighter or Boeing Co's F-15 Silent Eagle fighter to South Korea, which is expected to announce the winner of a 60-jet competition later this year.

The Defence Security Cooperation Agency, which oversees foreign military sales, notified U.S. lawmakers last Friday about the possible sales to South Korea as tensions continued to mount with North Korea, saying that U.S. warplanes would help Seoul "deter aggression in the region."