Ex-Marine division chief returns home after 22-hr questioning over conscript's death

A former division commander of the Marine Corps returned home Tuesday following 22 hours of police questioning in connection with the death of a young Marine conscript during a search operation for downpour victims in July last year. Lim Seong-geun, former commander of the Marine Corps 1st Division, is the highest-ranking Marine official questioned as part of the investigation into the death of a Marine conscript, surnamed Chae, who was swept away by a torrent during a search for missing flood v

May 14, 2024

Key S. Korean, USFK special operations officials to hold rare meeting amid NK threats

The military is planning to hold a rare meeting between major South Korean and US Forces Korea special operations officials later this month to discuss ways to improve special warfare capabilities amid North Korea's threats, Seoul's defense ministry said Tuesday. South Korea operates special forces units separately under the Army, the Navy, the Air Force and the Marine Corps, and regularly stages combined drills with US Special Operations Command Korea troops, but holding a meeting between all o

May 14, 2024

[Graphic News] Only 34% of S. Korean elites favor nuclear arms

About a third of South Korean academics, experts and other elites support nuclearization of their country, a US think tank poll showed, a finding that contrasts with greater support shown in surveys of the general public. The Center for Strategic and International Studies released a report on the outcome of the poll conducted with over 1,000 “strategic elites” in South Korea from Jan. 15 to March 17. The report, titled “Breaking Bad, South Korea’s Nuclear Option,”

May 14, 2024

Yoon names new military manpower chief

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has approved the appointment of Kim Jong-cheol, the incumbent deputy chief of the Presidential Security Service, as the new commissioner of the Military Manpower Administration as of Monday, Yoon's office announced on Sunday. Kim becomes the second head of the governmental body responsible for conscription, call-ups, and other military administration under the Yoon presidency. According to the presidential office, Kim is described as a "military adm

May 12, 2024

South Korea open to Indonesian proposal to cut KF-21 payments

South Korea is leaning toward accepting the proposed cuts by Indonesia in its share of KF-21 fighter development costs, according to the government’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration on Wednesday. The DAPA said that the reduction in the Indonesian contribution to the joint project was expected to translate into less of a financial burden than speculated by the press, explaining that expenses could be cut down considerably over the process. At its onset, the project was calculated

May 8, 2024

Indonesia’s KF-21 fighter jet deal cut back -- what’s next?

Indonesia’s latest proposal to slash its share of the costs for the joint project to develop the South Korean KF-21 fighter jet appears to have left South Korea with no option but to cover the remainder. According to South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration on Tuesday, the Indonesian side has proposed to pay one-third of its agreed share -- which is about 600 billion won ($441 million) -- by the deadline about two years from now. The proposal came after Indonesia ha

May 7, 2024

Veterans minister to visit France, Germany this week

Veterans Minister Kang Jung-ai will visit France and Germany this week to strengthen cooperation in veterans affairs with countries that participated in the 1950-53 Korean War, her office said Sunday. Kang departed for France earlier in the day for a seven-day trip that also includes a stop in Germany from Wednesday to Saturday, according to the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs. In France, she will meet Christian Cambon, a member of the French Senate, to discuss bilateral cooperation on

May 5, 2024

Defense chiefs of US, Australia, Japan decry NK-Russia military cooperation

The defense chiefs of the United States, Australia and Japan denounced growing military cooperation between North Korea and Russia, including their weapons transactions, during their trilateral talks in Hawaii this week, according to a joint statement released Friday. US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and his Australian and Japanese counterparts, Richard Marles and Minoru Kihara, held the meeting on Thursday to discuss a range of regional and global issues, including North Korea, Russia'

May 4, 2024

Seoul to more than double military drones by 2026 to counter NK threats

The Yoon Suk Yeol government on Thursday unveiled its plans to more than double its military drone fleet by 2026 to enhance the military's readiness against threats from North Korea's unmanned aerial vehicles. The meeting of the presidential Defense Innovation Committee, chaired by National Security Adviser Chang Ho-jin, focused on strategies to bolster drone capabilities directly tied to the military's readiness posture, according to President Yoon Suk Yeol's office. "O

May 2, 2024

S. Korean, Australian defense chiefs agree to bolster defense industry ties

The defense chiefs of South Korea and Australia held talks in Melbourne on Tuesday and discussed ways to step up cooperation for regional security and defense industry. Defense Minister Shin Won-sik met Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defense Richard Marles during his visit to Australia for "two plus two" talks among the countries' foreign and defense ministers, slated for Wednesday. In their first meeting since their gathering in Seoul last October, the minister

April 30, 2024

Late Dutch veteran of Korean War to be laid to rest in S. Korea

The remains of a late Dutch veteran of the 1950-53 Korean War arrived in South Korea on Monday in line with his wishes to be buried in the country, Seoul's veterans ministry said. The ministry held a ceremony to mark Ferdinand Titalepta's return to South Korea at Incheon International Airport, just west of Seoul, following his remains' arrival in the country aboard a plane earlier in the day. The remains are scheduled to be interred at the UN Memorial Cemetery in Busan, 320 kilo

April 29, 2024

South Korea to launch space security center under spy agency

South Korea is preparing to establish a center for space security under the National Intelligence Service. Under the revisions to the presidential decree that took effect Tuesday, the NIS is set to operate the National Space Security Center, dedicated to intelligence activities concerning the space sector. With the center’s launch, the country’s spy agency will have the authority to respond to threats to space assets and systems of the country and other enemy threats in the space dom

April 26, 2024

S. Korean patrol vessel to be transferred to Ecuador

The Korea Coast Guard announced that it will transfer a 3,000-ton patrol vessel to Ecuador after signing a memorandum of understanding with its defense minister on Thursday. According to the Coast Guard, Ecuadorian Defense Minister Giancarlo Loffredo signed the memorandum with the KCG to transfer the decommissioned patrol vessel -- the KCG3001 -- and visited the vessel mounted in Mokpo, South Jeolla Province, to review the handover process. The KCG3001 was the first 3,000-ton patrol vessel used

April 25, 2024

S. Korea, US stage space training against NK GPS jamming threats

South Korea and the United States have conducted joint space exercises to fend off North Korea's global positioning system jamming attacks and other space-based threats, the Air Force said Wednesday. The Air Force's Space Operation Squadron and the US Space Forces Korea formed an integrated team to conduct the training as part of the Korea Flying Training, an annual large-scale airpower drill. It marked the first time that an integrated space operation team attended the KFT, a two-week

April 24, 2024

North Korea fires several short-range ballistic missiles into sea: JCS

South Korea spotted several short-range ballistic missiles fired from North Korea toward the sea west of the Korean Peninsula on Monday. The South’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a release that the missiles, the launch point of which is believed to be around Pyongyang, flew for more than 300 kilometers before landing in the sea at 3:01 p.m. The JCS said the missiles were “immediately detected, tracked and monitored” as they were launched and that the related information was &ld

April 22, 2024

Chiefs of South Korea’s JCS, US Spacecom meet

Kim Myung-soo, the chair of South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Stephen Whiting, the commander of the US Space Command, met on Monday in Seoul. According to the JCS, Kim and Whiting held a meeting to discuss close two-way cooperation and to enhance South Korea-US alliance’s space capabilities amid growing North Korean threats in space and ongoing military exchanges between Russia and North Korea. North Korea launched its first military reconnaissance satellite in November last y

April 22, 2024

Top military officer meets new U.S. Pacific Fleet commander

South Korea's top military officer held talks with the new commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet on Thursday on ways to boost the allies' combined defense readiness, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said. JCS Chairman Adm. Kim Myung-soo met US Adm. Stephen Koehler at the headquarters of the Navy's Fleet Command in Busan, 320 kilometers southeast of Seoul, according to the JCS. The two admirals were briefed on naval operations at the unit's command center and held talks on ways t

April 18, 2024

S. Korea to build F-35 maintenance facility at Cheongju Air Base

South Korea will build its own maintenance facility for its F-35A stealth jets by 2027, a move that would enhance operational efficiency and reduce costs, the state arms procurement agency said Thursday. South Korea's Air Force operates a fleet of 39 F-35As at an air base in Cheongju, 112 kilometers south of Seoul, after one jet retired last year due to damage from a bird strike. In December, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration signed a letter of acceptance with the US government

April 18, 2024

US aircraft carrier joins 3-way naval drill with Korea, Japan

ABOARD THE USS THEODORE ROOSEVELT -- The South Korean and US navies and the Japanese self-defense maritime force held a trilateral exercise in the high seas south of Jeju Island Thursday and Friday, in a combined effort to counter underwater as well as nuclear and missile threats by North Korea. According to South Korea’s Navy, six warships from the three countries participated in the exercise -- including the Aegis destroyer Seoae Ryu Sung-ryong of South Korea; the nuclear-powered aircraf

April 14, 2024

South Korea, US plan exercises against North Korea nuclear use scenario

South Korea and the US have agreed to hold tabletop exercises that simulate North Korea’s nuclear weapons use to strengthen a joint response. According to the Ministry of National Defense in Seoul on Friday, the two countries confirmed the plans at the 24th Korea-US Integrated Defense Consultative Group held in Washington on Thursday. The meeting in Washington was attended by a South Korean delegation led by Cho Chang-rae, the deputy minister of national defense. The US delegation was led

April 12, 2024