Cheong Ju / Chongju Air Base
Cheongju first opened as an air base in September 1978. Six years later in April 1984 the ROk government decided to construct an international airport at the site. Construction on the airport began in 1992 and was not officially completed until 1997.

The 51st Fighter Wing, headquartered at Osan Air Base, Republic of Korea, maintains and administers US operations at Osan and five collocated operating bases -- Taegu, Suwon, Kwang Ju, Kimhae and Cheong Ju ? for reception and beddown of follow-on forces. The Wing's 51st Logistics Support Squadron plans, programs and initiates actions for the rapid reception and beddown of US forces deploying to the Republic of Korea during contingencies or wartime by maintaining five collocated operating bases and seven munitions storage sites.

The United States Air Force has a continuing requirement to maintain adequate supplies of ammunition and explosives within the ROK to support wartime and contingency operational plans. Since capabilities are limited on USAF-controlled installations, the US obtained additional storage capabilities through a concept known as MAGNUM (Munitions Storage Activities Gained by Negotiations of USAF/ROKAF Memorandum). MAGNUMs are a concept unique to Korea, where USAF-titled munitions are stored at facilities which are owned, operated, and protected by the ROKAF. Accordingly, the USAF has very little control over the storage of munitions within these areas and no authority to enforce the maintenance of Q-D clear zones. As a result of encroachment by the Korean civilians into the explosive clear zones, there are large numbers of exposures around the MAGNUMs. There is a permanent exemption from US DOD Q-D standards for off-installation and ROK exposures created by storage of USAF munitions at MAGNUM locations. This exemption applies for all off-installation and ROK violations created by the originally sited net explosives weight (NEW) of storage structures located at the Osan, Kunsan, Suwon, Kwang Ju, Sachon, Taegu, and Cheong Ju MAGNUMs.