The South Korean spy agency believes up to 10,000 members of North Korean forces could be deployed in Russia’s war on Ukraine by December, according to vice chairs of the National Assembly intelligence committee on Wednesday. “To date around 3,000 North Korean soldiers have been sent to Russia, with an additional 1,500 to be dispatched sometime soon. By December, the number of soldiers dispatched is expected to total 10,000,” Rep. Park Sun-won told reporters after he was briefe

Politics Oct. 23, 2024

South Korea may mull expanding its support to Ukraine, including supplies of “offensive” weapons, depending on the extent of how deeply North Korea engages with Russia in the war efforts, a Seoul official said Tuesday. Kim Tae-hyo, the South Korean deputy national security director, told reporters following a National Security Council meeting convened on this day that Seoul would be tuning its response to match the role Pyongyang plays in the war. “All weapons, whether defensiv

Politics Oct. 22, 2024

[코리아헤럴드=김아린 기자] 우리 군의 대북 확성기 방송이 북한의 대남 쓰레기 풍선 도발 억제에 실패하고 있을 뿐만 아니라, 추가 살포의 빌미를 제공한다는 유엔군사령부의 조사 결과가 나왔다. 또 유엔사는 유엔사령관의 승인 없이 우리 군이 비무장지대(DMZ)에 출입해 대북 확성기를 설치하고 대북 심리전 방송을 송출한 것이 정전협정 위반에 해당한다고 판단했다. 21일 코리아헤럴드 취재를 종합하면, 유엔사 군사정전위원회는 우리 군이 지난 6월 재개한 대북 확성기 방송과 관련한 특별조사를 실시해 이같은 조사 결과를 10일 국방부에 알렸다. 군정위는 DMZ 내 남북한군의 정전협정 위반 여부를 조사하는 역할을 맡고 있다. 이에 김용현 국방부장관은 유엔사의 조사 결과를 반송하고 수용할 수 없다는 입장을 전하는 등 강력한 대응을 지시한 것으로 알려졌다. 장관 지침에 따라 11일 국방부와 합동참모본부에서 각각 유엔사에 항의 의사를 전달했으나, 유엔사는 우리 군이 정전협정을 위반했다는 기존의 판단을

한국어판 Oct. 21, 2024

The US-led United Nations Command said South Korea broadcasting anti-Kim Jong-un propaganda through loudspeakers along the border with North Korea have encouraged, rather than deterred, North Korea’s launches of balloons carrying trash toward the South, according to a Seoul Joint Chiefs of Staff memo obtained by The Korea Herald. The anti-Pyongyang broadcasts by South Korea “failed to deter the North Korean trash balloons” and “gave North Korea an excuse for additional la

Defense Oct. 21, 2024

GYERYONG, South Chungcheong Province -- On North Korea claiming without evidence that South Korean uncrewed aerial vehicles flew over Pyongyang, the South Korean army chief of staff said North Korean attempts to gamble with the stability of the Korean Peninsula “will not be tolerated.” Gen. Park An-su said North Korea was “using the drone claims” to order artillery corps to be prepared to open fire along the border and blow up inter-Korean roads. “The North Korean r

Defense Oct. 17, 2024

Rep. Lim Jong-deuk, former deputy national security adviser to President Yoon Suk Yeol and lawmaker on the National Assembly National Defense Committee, on Wednesday allayed concerns of North Korea waging war on account of its arms trade with Russia. “North Korea is in a difficult position to start a war at this point for a number of reasons. One is that North Korea is already sending large quantities of artillery shells and missiles to Russia, and likely to send troops as well,” he

Politics Oct. 16, 2024

North Korea blew up roads near the border on each side of the Korean Peninsula on Tuesday, in another demonstration of cutting ties with the South. Exploding the inter-Korean roads north of the border on the east and west coats, which had already been dismantled by North Korea, is thought to be a “largely symbolic move,” an official from South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff told reporters in a closed-door briefing. Tuesday’s move is a “dramatic visualization” o

Defense Oct. 15, 2024

The head of the South Korean government agency for defense research and development said Tuesday the uncrewed aerial vehicles seen in footage released by North Korean state media do not seem to be South Korean. “These UAVs do not seem distinctly South Korean, although there are similar-looking ones among commercial kinds as well as those developed (by the military),” Lt. Gen. Lee Kun-wan, president of the Agency for Defense Development, said in response to questions from lawmakers. &

Defense Oct. 15, 2024

[코리아헤럴드=김아린 기자] 올해 방위산업 협력업체들을 대상으로 한 기술 유출 시도 건수가 벌써 작년 건수의 세 배가 넘는 것으로 확인됐다. 14일 임종득 국민의힘 의원이 방위사업청에서 받은 자료에 따르면, 올해 1~8월 방산 협력업체들에 대한 기술 유출 시도는 19건에 달했다. 이는 지난해 전체 시도 건수인 6건보다 세 배 넘게 많은 수치다. 2022년 12건, 2021년 16건, 2020년 3건 등 최근 5년을 통틀어 가장 많았다. 2020년부터 올해 8월까지 집계된 기술 유출 시도 건수는 총 56건으로 이 중 사이버 공격으로 인한 유출이 29건인 것으로 나타났다. 방산업체의 보안 관리 실태를 확인하는 ‘정부합동 방산기술보호 통합실태조사’ 결과를 보면, 기업의 크기와 관계 없이 보안을 전담하는 인력이 부족한 것으로 드러났다. 올해 기준 방산 대기업 18개사의 방산업무 종사자 총 18,043명 가운데 기술보호 업무를 포함한 보안 업무 담당자는 124명으로 0.

한국어판 Oct. 15, 2024

Even South Korea’s largest defense companies do not have adequate cyber security workforce in place, and their contractors exempt from government monitoring, leaving loopholes for cyber threats, Rep. Lim Jong-deuk said Monday, citing Defense Acquisition Program Administration data. According to DAPA data submitted to Lim’s office, as of this year, just 0.6 percent or 124 of 18,043 defense-related employees across 18 largest defense companies in South Korea were in charge of cyber sec

Politics Oct. 14, 2024

The South Korean military is closely watching developments and making necessary preparations in response to the North Korean military ordering its troops near the border to be prepared to open fire. Col. Lee Sung-jun, the South’s Joint Chiefs of Staff spokesperson, told reporters Monday that the South Korean military is “prepared for any actual provocation.” ”The responsibility for current circumstances lies entirely with North Korea, and we strongly warn them to stop wit

Defense Oct. 14, 2024

The South Korean military said Sunday it has “nothing to confirm” regarding North Korea claiming to have ordered its artillery corps near the shared border to fully prepare to shoot. “The military has nothing to confirm,” a South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff official told The Korea Herald. North Korea’s defense ministry said in a statement releases through the state Korean Central News Agency that it has put “fully armed” artillery corps along the border

Defense Oct. 13, 2024

No South Korean military unmanned aerial vehicle has entered North Korean skies, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said Friday in response to North Korean Foreign Ministry claims of such infiltration into Pyongyang. “The South Korean military has not sent any UAVs or flyers. We don’t know yet if a civilian drone flew in,” an official from the South’s JCS told The Korea Herald. In a statement, the North’s Foreign Ministry claimed that South Korean UAVs had flown

Defense Oct. 11, 2024

A North Korean escaped to the South last month despite Pyongyang closing inter-Korean paths and fortifying areas around the line dividing the Korean Peninsula. According to the South Korean military on Friday, a North Korean man crossed the maritime boundary in the sea west of the country on a small wooden boat in the early hours of Sept. 17. The South Korean military said it captured the man sailing by himself after guiding him over to the south of the boundary. This marks the third known North

North Korea Oct. 11, 2024

North Korea has already blocked the inter-Korean passages under leader Kim Jong-un’s instructions, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff chief Adm. Kim Myung-soo said Thursday. The South’s JCS chairman was responding to National Assembly questions about the announcement by the North Korean army on Wednesday that the reclusive regime planned to cut off all roads and railways leading to South Korea and build fortifications in the border areas. “North Korea began closing off

Defense Oct. 10, 2024