OSAN AIR BASE, South Korea — A group of people living near Osan Air Base has filed suit against South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense to block construction of a second runway planned for the base, a ministry spokesman said Monday.

The suit was filed April 29 in Seoul Administrative Court and contends the project will inflict noise pollution on the residents.

The ministry spokesman said the project has the ministry’s full support and will proceed as scheduled.

Construction of the $98 million project began last October and is to be completed in January 2013.

The second runway would give the base two operational runways, with one ready for use when the other is closed for repairs or other reasons, said Capt. Matthew Stines, spokesman for Osan’s 51st Fighter Wing.

The base is 48 miles south of Korea’s Demilitarized Zone and is home to a U.S. fighter wing, headquarters of the U.S. Air Force on the peninsula, and other units, including a U-2 reconnaissance squadron and the headquarters of an Army Patriot missile brigade.

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