"Although the air force had to maintain a higher level of combat-readiness since North Korea's (October 2006) nuclear test, it keeps half of its main fighter jets in warehouses," said Maeng Hyung-Gyu of the opposition Grand National Party.

"There should not be loopholes in defending the country's airspace due to maintenance problems," Yonhap news agency quoted him as saying.

In a report to Maeng for an ongoing parliamentary audit, the air force said only 60 percent of about 130 KF-16 jets were engaged in normal operations during the first eight months of this year.

Dozens of KF-16s were grounded to check for possible engine problems after one of them crashed in February due to poor maintenance.

As for advanced F-15K jets, only 70 percent of them were in service, according to Maeng.

Each KF-16, a local variant of the F-16, costs around 40 billion won (43 million dollars).

US engine maker Pratt and Whitney, which supplied the KF-16's engines, advised the air force to replace a defective part but mechanics ignored it, an air force internal probe concluded.

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