USFK reports another coronavirus case at Camp Humphreys, total at 14

US Forces Korea (USFK) reported another coronavirus case Wednesday, bringing the total number of USFK-related infections to 14. The new COVID-19 case came from Camp Humphreys, 70 kilometers south of Seoul, according to USFK. "The individual works at a remote isolated site," Garrison Commander Col. Michael Tremblay said on Facebook Live. Further details were not immediately available. A USFK official said the military will stop providing related releases following the Pentagon's orde

April 1, 2020

S. Korea develops indigenous port surveillance system

South Korea has developed a new port surveillance system with indigenous technologies that can better detect increasingly quiet submarines and other underwater moving objects, the arms procurement agency said Wednesday. The advanced maritime surveillance system, developed by the Agency for Defense Development with a 130 billio- won ($106.6 million) budget since 2015, has been installed at major ports across the country, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) said. "Submarin

April 1, 2020

S. Korea, US could announce defense cost deal as early as Wednesday: source

South Korea and the United States could announce a defense cost-sharing agreement as early as Wednesday, a source said, as thousands of Koreans workers in the US Forces Korea went on unpaid leave in the absence of a deal to fund their wages. "In the broad scheme of things, the two sides have clearly reached the stage of putting the finishing touch on the negotiations, though various possibilities remain still open," the source told Yonhap News Agency on condition of anonymity. "

April 1, 2020

S. Korean negotiator expresses regret over planned furloughs of Korean USFK employees

South Korea's top negotiator in defense cost-sharing talks with the United States expressed regrets Tuesday over the planned furloughs of thousands of Koreans employed by US Forces Korea, calling on Washington to make efforts to enable their swift return to work. Jeong Eun-bo also voiced expectation for the conclusion of the negotiations in the near future, stressing Seoul and Washington have "considerably" narrowed their differences over the sharing of the cost for stationing 28,500

March 31, 2020

[Newsmaker] American soldiers' premature twins transferred to US from virus-hit Daegu

The US military has transferred prematurely born twins of an American soldier couple stationed in South Korea's coronavirus-hit city of Daegu to a Navy hospital in the United States to provide them with better care even though they were not infected with the coronavirus, an official has said. The babies were transported from a neonatal intensive care unit in Daegu to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Washington via Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, some 70 kilometers south of Seoul, a

March 31, 2020

Camp Humphreys contractor tests positive for coronavirus, raising USFK infections to 13

A US citizen working at a US Forces Korea (USFK) base tested positive for the coronavirus on Monday, bringing the total number of USFK-related infections to 13, the military said. The latest COVID-19 patient is an American contractor working at Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, 70 kilometers south of Seoul, according to USFK. He is currently in isolation at his off-base residence, and he last visited the garrison on Friday, it added. "KCDC and USFK are actively conducting contact tracing to

March 31, 2020

Two military personnel test positive for coronavirus again after full recovery

Two military personnel, who had been reported to have fully recovered from the new coronavirus, have tested positive again, the defense ministry said Sunday. An Army officer based in Yongin, some 50 kilometers south of Seoul, and an Air Force contractor in the southeastern city of Daegu have tested positive while in a preventive quarantine after leaving the hospital, according to the ministry. Both were reported to have fully recovered from the virus on March 20. They have been in quarantine

March 29, 2020

About 200 S. Korean peacekeepers return home from South Sudan

About 200 South Korean peacekeeping troops returned home Saturday from South Sudan after completing their nine-month rotational mission. They arrived at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, shortly before noon on an Ethiopian Airlines plane chartered by the South Korean government. The soldiers are scheduled to be tested for the coronavirus and be self-quarantined for two weeks if they all test negative. All the troops, however, will be quarantined at the Army Cadet Military School i

March 28, 2020

US Forces Korea reports new infections, total 12

United States Forces Korea said Friday that a soldier and a contract worker at Camp Humphreys, its headquarters in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, had tested positive for COVID-19, bringing its tally to 12. Korea hosts 28,500 US troops here. Of the 12 patients, two were soldiers -- one at Camp Humphreys, the other at Camp Carroll near Daegu -- and the rest were either the service members’ family or contract employees working for the US military. Two days ago, USFK declared a public healt

March 27, 2020

Military reports no new coronavirus cases, total at 39

The military reported no additional cases of the new coronavirus Thursday, with the total number of infections standing at 39, the defense ministry said. Thirty-four COVID-19 patients are active-duty service members, and the remaining five are civilians working for the military, the ministry said. It added that 21 were in the Army, 14 in the Air Force, two in the Marine Corps and one each in the Navy and a unit under the direct control of the ministry. Of the total, 26 have fully recovered fr

March 26, 2020

Defense chief calls for tighter naval defense on 10th anniversary of NK's sinking of warship

South Korean Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo called for tighter defense of the sea border with North Korea on Thursday, the 10th anniversary of the communist nation's deadly sinking of the South's warship Cheonan. The Cheonan went down near the Northern Limit Line (NLL), the de facto maritime border between the two Koreas, on March 26, 2010, killing 46 sailors. After an international probe, the South concluded the sinking was caused by a torpedo attack by a North Korean submarine. "We

March 26, 2020

USFK declares public health emergency over coronavirus

US Forces Korea Commander Gen. Robert Abrams declared a public health emergency on Wednesday as part of efforts to contain the coronavirus, his office said. The declaration came in accordance with the US State Department's issuance of a global level 4 travel advisory and USFK installations' increased exposure to COVID-19, USFK said in a release. "In order to ensure I possess the necessary authorities needed to enforce compliance and protect the force, I have declared a Public Health Emer

March 25, 2020

Defense ministry official tests negative for coronavirus

A partial shutdown of the defense ministry's main building in Seoul has been lifted after one of its officials, who had close contact with a relative confirmed to have the coronavirus, tested negative. The ministry had temporarily shut down part of the building for disinfection work earlier in the day after the Army colonel assigned to the ministry was found to have dined with the relative, who had been diagnosed with COVID-19 following an overseas trip. So far, no confirmed cases have been r

March 25, 2020

USFK employee tests positive for virus, total at 10

A US citizen working for US Forces Korea (USFK) has tested positive for the new coronavirus, bringing the total number of USFK-related infection cases to 10, the military said Tuesday. The COVID-19 patient, who works at Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, some 70 kilometers south of Seoul, is now in isolation at his off-base residence as directed by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC), USFK said, adding he last visited the base Friday. "KCDC and USFK are actively conduc

March 24, 2020

Allies considering holding defense cost talks via videoconferencing amid virus concerns: official

The military reported no additional cases of the new coronavirus among its population Tuesday, with the total number of infections standing at 39, the defense ministry said. Thirty-four COVID-19 patients are active-duty service members, and the remaining five are civilians working for the military, the ministry said, adding that 21 were in the Army, 14 in the Air Force, two in the Marine Corps and one each in the Navy and a unit under the direct control of the ministry. Of the total, 24 have

March 24, 2020

Military reports no fresh coronavirus cases, total at 39

The military reported no additional cases of the new coronavirus among its population Tuesday, with the total number of infections standing at 39, the defense ministry said. Thirty-four COVID-19 patients are active-duty service members, and the remaining five are civilians working for the military, the ministry said, adding that 21 were in the Army, 14 in the Air Force, two in the Marine Corps and one each in the Navy and a unit under the direct control of the ministry. Of the total, 24 have

March 24, 2020

Navy holds commemorating ceremony ahead of 10th anniversary of Cheonan sinking

The Navy has held a memorial ceremony to honor dozens of sailors killed in North Korea's 2010 deadly sinking of a South Korean warship ahead of its 10th anniversary, the military said Tuesday. The warship Cheonan went down near the Northern Limit Line, the de facto maritime border between the two Koreas, on March 26, 2010, killing 46 sailors. After an international probe, the South concluded that the sinking was caused by a torpedo attack by a North Korean submarine. On Monday, service membe

March 24, 2020

US still insists on $4 billion demand in defense cost-sharing talks: source

The United States stuck to its demand for $4 billion in Seoul's financial contribution to stationing 28,500 American troops here in last week's defense cost-sharing talks with South Korea, a diplomatic source indicated Monday. The figure was down from the US' initial call for a fivefold increase to $5 billion in Korea's share of the cost for the upkeep of the US Forces Korea (USFK), but Seoul officials believe that the figure is still unrealistically high. "Basically, there wasn't a chan

March 23, 2020

U.S. rejects call to first address Korean workers' wage issue in defense cost talks: official

The United States has officially opposed a proposal for a separate deal to fund wages for South Korean workers in the US Forces Korea (USFK), Seoul's top negotiator in the allies' defense cost-sharing talks said Saturday.    During the latest talks in Los Angeles, South Korea had pushed for the proposal, as thousands of the workers face furloughs that could start on April 1 absent the cost-sharing deal, called the Special Measures Agreement (SMA).    "We proposed a me

March 21, 2020

S. Korea, US to continue combined exercises in adjusted manner: defense minister

South Korea will continue to stage planned combined exercises with the United States in an adjusted manner, though an annual springtime drill was postponed in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, Seoul's defense minister said Friday. The springtime exercise, named the Combined Command Post Training (CCPT) 20-1, had initially been planned for early March, but the allies decided late last month to postpone it due to concerns over the COVID-19 situation. It was the first time that joint exercis

March 20, 2020