USFK reports coronavirus case from Camp Casey, total at 21

US Forces Korea (USFK) reported a coronavirus case from Camp Casey, north of Seoul, on Wednesday, bringing the total number of USFK-related infections to 21. It is the first confirmed case of the COVID-19 virus from the base in the city of Dongducheon, around 40 kilometers north of Seoul. Other details were not immediately available. "Contact tracing and thorough cleaning are occurring now," USFK said in a Facebook post. USFK has kept the coronavirus risk level at "high"

April 8, 2020

Army to conduct massive field training amid coronavirus concerns

The Army plans to hold a two-week field training involving some 4,500 service members this month, officials said Wednesday, amid lingering concerns over the new coronavirus. The exercise will kick off at the Korea Combat Training Center in the eastern county of Inje on April 20, the military said. The training comes as South Korea's daily new COVID-19 cases stayed at around 50 for the third straight day Wednesday. The country's social distancing campaign is set to expire on April 19. Health a

April 8, 2020

Defense ministers of Seoul, Washington discuss defense cost-sharing deal

Amid drawn-out negotiations on military cost-sharing between South Korea and the US, the defense chiefs of both countries spoke by phone and discussed the importance of reaching an “equitable” agreement quickly. 　 US Defense Secretary Mark Esper called Korean Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo at around 8:30 p.m. on Monday evening, and discussed the ongoing negotiations for about 20 minutes, according to Seoul’s Defense Ministry on Tuesday. 　 “I appreciate Korean Defen

April 7, 2020

US again flies spy plane over Korean Peninsula

A US surveillance aircraft has flown over South Korea, an aviation tracker said Saturday, on an apparent mission to monitor North Korea following a series of major weapons tests by the communist nation last month. The US Air Force's RC-135W Rivet Joint was spotted in skies above the eastern province of Gangwon and Gyeonggi Province near the capital city of Seoul, Aircraft Spots tweeted without specifying the exact time of the operation. It uploaded a similar post Saturday about detecting thi

April 7, 2020

S. Korea's Bigung guided rocket system passes Pentagon's testing scheme

South Korea's Bigung guided rocket system has passed a comparative test by the US defense department for foreign weapons, paving the way for exports to the US market, the arms procurement agency said Tuesday. The 70-millimeter rocket system hit all 10 targets and met all US requirements during the Foreign Comparative Testing (FCT) session held in South Korea in October that was attended by a panel of experts from the US Department of Defense, according to the Defense Acquisition Program Admini

April 7, 2020

USFK reports another virus case, total at 20

US Forces Korea (USFK) reported another coronavirus case from its air US Forces Korea (USFK) reported another coronavirus case from its air base in the city of Pyeongtaek on Tuesday, bringing the total number of USFK-related infections to 20. It is the third COVID-19 case confirmed at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, some 70 kilometers south of Seoul, near Camp Humphreys, where the USFK's headquarters is located, USFK said in a Facebook post. Other details were not immediately ava

April 7, 2020

Esper says he called S. Korean counterpart to discuss defense cost deal

US Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Monday he called South Korean Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo to discuss the importance of an "equitable" defense cost-sharing agreement between the allies. The phone call took place days after US Forces Korea placed thousands of Korean workers at US military bases on unpaid leave, citing the absence of an agreement to cover their salaries. "I appreciate Korean Defense Minister Jeong taking my phone call today to discuss the importance of

April 7, 2020

USFK acknowledges bringing in coronavirus samples from overseas for testing at local labs

US Forces Korea (USFK) said Monday it has commissioned civilian labs in South Korea to conduct coronavirus tests on samples from American troops stationed outside of the Korean Peninsula as it was unable to handle all outside test requests. A vernacular daily reported earlier in the day that 72 American servicemembers have been confirmed to have the virus in tests conducted by a South Korean research institute in Seoul at the request of the US military hospital at Camp Humphreys. The paper cit

April 6, 2020

USFK declines to comment on reported plan to deploy advanced drones

US Forces Korea (USFK) declined to confirm a media report Monday that it plans to deploy advanced attack drones, similar to those used in the killing of a top Iranian general in January, in South Korea this year. The Chosun Ilbo, a Seoul-based daily, said six Gray Eagle Extended Range (GE-ER) drones will be deployed at a USFK air base in the southwestern city of Gunsan in September, citing an unidentified source. "The new drones were to have been deployed earlier, but US President Donald

April 6, 2020

US soldiers in Korea punished for violating antivirus rules

The US 8th Army in Korea said Sunday it had stripped one sergeant and three soldiers of two months’ pay, as they had visited an off-base bar in violation of the military guidance not to travel outside their base in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, where the US military is headquartered. The three soldiers had their ranks downgraded to private as well. Noncompliance with the guidance will be made public so everyone related to the US military understands the consequences of defying the comma

April 6, 2020

Military delays conscription fitness test

The Military Manpower Administration said Monday that it had decided to postpone the physical examinations for conscript candidates nationwide by another week to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The tests, which have been suspended since Feb. 24, will resume April 20, but they could be further put back depending on the situation. Over the weekend, the government said it would extend the social distancing campaign, requiring citizens to avoid unnecessary outdoor activities for another two weeks.

April 6, 2020

Military to enhance education on mobile phone use amid online sex crime scandal

The defense ministry said Monday it will strengthen education for soldiers on the use of mobile phones to prevent digital sex crimes, after an Army soldier has been accused of involvement in a high-profile online sexual blackmail case. The private first class, whose identity has been withheld, is under investigation over suspicions he distributed content of women performing gruesome sex acts under coercion in collaboration with the so-called Nth room case's prime suspect, Cho Ju-bin. The milit

April 6, 2020

Vice Adm. Boo Suk-jong named new Navy chief

Vice Adm. Boo Suk-jong, chief of the military support directorate at the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was designated Monday as the new Navy chief after being promoted to the four-star rank, the defense ministry said. Boo, 56, was tapped to replace Sim Seung-seob, who took office in July 2018, and President Moon Jae-in will officially appoint him following Cabinet deliberations on Tuesday, according to the ministry. He was commissioned as an ensign in 1986 and has served in key naval roles, includin

April 6, 2020

Military launches land mine removal mission in rear area

The military on Monday began a mission to remove land mines in southern regions to promote local residents' safety and convenience, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said. The military will mobilize some 1,400 service members from 26 engineering units from the Army, Air Force and the Marine Corps to search and clear the mines near Mount Cheonseong and Mount Geumgseong in the Gyeongsang provinces by next year, it said. The government plans to develop trekking courses at the areas for local reside

April 6, 2020

[Newsmaker] US military uses Seoul lab to test troops outside Korea

A Seoul-based lab tested 72 American troops positive for COVID-19, but the US military in Korea said they belonged to soldiers stationed elsewhere, and not here, a local report said Sunday. 　 A US hospital at Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, where the US military is headquartered, sent clinical specimens to the lab, which shared the results with the city in Gyeonggi Province, as it was bound by law to do so. The city pressed the US military for more details, but it came to confirm only the fact t

April 5, 2020

S. Korea pushing to deploy Global Hawk aircraft this year

The Air Force is pushing to deploy its first advanced unmanned aircraft Global Hawk within this year, sources said Friday. South Korea brought in the RQ-4 Block 30 Global Hawk Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) in December and has been working to put it in operation. A reconnaissance squadron was established in charge of the asset that month. "Related work for its operational deployment has been going on without a hitch," a military source said, adding that the exact time frame is subje

April 3, 2020

USFK reports 2 additional virus cases, total at 17

Two American citizens working for the US Forces Korea tested positive for the coronavirus Friday, USFK said, bringing the total number of infections among its population to 17. One of the contractors works at Osan Air Base and the other at Camp Humphreys, both located in Pyeongtaek, 70 kilometers south of Seoul, USFK said, adding that they are currently in isolation at their respective off-base residences. The first patient last visited the base on Wednesday, and authorities have conducted co

April 3, 2020

Air Force officers caught drinking on emergency standby

More than a dozen Air Force officers were caught drinking on emergency standby, the military said Thursday, sparking criticism about lax discipline. A total of 16 officers affiliated with the 10th Fighter Wing in Suwon, south of Seoul, drank beer on three separate occasions between August and September last year at the base's alert area where airmen stay for emergency operations. They were in charge of either F-4E or F-5 fighters. An informant reported this to the defense ministry in February

April 2, 2020

NSC to strive for defense cost-sharing deal with US

South Korea's top security officials agreed Thursday to continue efforts for an agreement with the United States on defense cost-sharing, Cheong Wa Dae said. In a weekly standing committee session of the National Security Council (NSC), the officials reviewed progress in the negotiations on the Special Measures Agreement (SMA) between the allies. They "agreed to continue efforts to strike a deal at an early date," Cheong Wa Dae said in spite of multiple news reports that Seoul and Wa

April 2, 2020

USFK workers go on unpaid leave as final deal pending

Nearly half of Koreans working at the US military in Korea went on indefinite, unpaid leave Wednesday, taken hostage by drawn-out negotiations between Korea and the US on how to share costs for the upkeep of 28,500 American troops here. “Today, approximately half of the USFK Korean national employee workforce has been furloughed due to a lapse in the Special Measures Agreement,” Gen. Robert Abrams, commander of the US military in Korea, said, referring to the cost-sharing deal the a

April 1, 2020