SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea today rejected Boeing Co.’s bid to supply 60 fighter jets in the country’s largest-ever weapons purchase even though it was the sole remaining bidder.

Boeing had offered its F-15 Silent Eagle, but South Korean critics have said the warplane lacks state-of-the-art stealth capabilities and cannot effectively cope with North Korea’s increasing nuclear threats.

Defense Ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok said officials decided at a meeting today to delay naming a winning bidder for the 8.3 trillion won ($7.7 billion) purchase, and would restart the bidding process.

He said South Korea must have better air power in line with an international trend to develop “fifth generation” fighters, and said the rejection of Boeing’s bid was made in consideration of North Korea’s nuclear program and other factors. Ministry officials said he was referring to a plane with cutting-edge radar-evading stealth functions which Boeing’s plane does not have.

Lockheed Martin’s F-35 Joint Strike Fighter and EADS’ Eurofighter Typhoon earlier competed in the bidding process but were eliminated for exceeding the budget cap.

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