US flew 2 reconnaissance planes over Seoul

Two US reconnaissance planes recently flew over Seoul and its surrounding area, an aviation tracker said Friday, on an apparent mission to intensify their surveillance of North Korea in the wake of its short-range missile firings earlier this month.According to Aircraft Spots, an RC-135U Combat Sent and an RC-135W Rivet Joint were detected flying over Seoul and its surrounding Gyeonggi province on Thursday.It is rare for two spy planes to fly simultaneously over Seoul. The deployment came five d

May 31, 2019

Korean general to lead joint drills to test Seoul’s readiness for wartime OPCON transfer

A Korean four-star general is expected to lead joint military drills with the US in August to test Seoul’s readiness to take over wartime operational control of its troops.The first joint exercise for assessment of initial operational capability (IOC), to be held during the combined command-post exercise in August, is likely to be led by a Korean general, according to the ROK-US Combined Forces Command (CFC) and the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The wartime OPCON transfer to Korea will proceed as

May 28, 2019

Envisioned Seoul-Tokyo defense chiefs' talks on hold: Japanese media

The defense ministers of South Korea and Japan are expected to hold a brief meeting while standing, rather than formal talks, on the sidelines of an international conference in Singapore early next month, a Japanese newspaper reported Tuesday.The neighboring countries have been pushing to hold the meeting between South Korean Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo and his Japanese counterpart Takeshi Iwaya in Singapore on the sidelines of the upcoming Asian security forum, known as the Shangri-La Dia

May 28, 2019

S. Korea to stage new civilian-military exercise next week

South Korea plans to launch a new civilian-military exercise next week to better brace for various contingencies, the defense and interior ministries said Friday, the latest in a series of reorganizations of defense drills to support peace efforts with North Korea.The inaugural Ulchi Taegeuk exercise will take place from May 27-30 involving around 480,000 civilians, government officials and armed service members from about 4,000 government and related agencies, the ministries said. Replacing the

May 24, 2019

US commander says Pyongyang’s recent missile launches ‘routine military activities’

Gen. Robert Abrams, the top commander of the combined forces here, said the recent launches of short-range missiles by North Korea were part of routine military exercises and that the security situation on the Korean Peninsula has not changed. During a symposium in Honolulu on Wednesday, Abrams said joint military exercises between South Korea and the US were suspended in consideration of diplomatic efforts made by the two governments with North Korea. Abrams serves as the commander of the Unite

May 24, 2019

South Korea pushes for bilateral talks with Japan, China

While Seoul’s relationships with Tokyo and Beijing are frayed as a result of military disputes over the past few months, military talks are set to resume in hopes of resolving the outstanding issues. South Korea’s Defense Ministry said Tuesday that it is cooperating separately with both neighboring countries to arrange bilateral talks between Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo and his Chinese and Japanese counterparts during the 2019 Shangri-La Dialogue slated to run May 31 to June 2 in Singapore

May 21, 2019

Moon highlights value of Korea-US alliance

President Moon Jae-in on Tuesday highlighted the importance of the South Korea-US alliance, saying the alliance remains firm and serves as the foundation of his drive for peace. The meeting was attended by South Korean Minister of National Defense Jeong Kyeong-doo and Gen. Robert Abrams, chief of the US Forces Korea.President Moon Jae-in speaks during a meeting with senior US and South Korean military commanders, including Gen. Robert Abrams (right), chief of the US Forces Korea, at the presiden

May 21, 2019

Moon to meet top military commanders of allies

President Moon Jae-in will meet with a group of top South Korean and US military generals at his office this week, Cheong Wa Dae announced Monday.He plans to have a luncheon meeting with Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo and Gen. Robert Abrams, chief of the US Forces Korea, on Tuesday, ahead of the June 6 Memorial Day.The other participants include Gen. Park Han-ki, chairman of South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the commanding generals of the country's Army, Navy and Air Force. U.S. Gen. R

May 20, 2019

US State Dep't approves possible sale of SM-2 missiles to S. Korea: DSCA

WASHINGTON, (Yonhap) -- The US State Department has approved a possible sale of SM-2 Block IIIB ship-to-air missiles to South Korea for an estimated cost of $313.9 million, according to a US defense agency. (Yonhap)The Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) under the Department of Defense said it delivered the required certification notifying Congress of the possible missile sale to Seoul on Thursday.South Korea has made a request to purchase up to 94 rounds of the missiles, and its Navy int

May 18, 2019

[Newsmaker] Relocation of ROK-US combined command being discussed: Abrams

Seoul and Washington are discussing the relocation of their combined forces command, the commander of the ROK-US Combined Forces Command, Gen. Robert Abrams, said in a statement Thursday, following media reports that he had suggested relocating the command’s headquarters in Yongsan to the United States Forces Korea’s Pyeongtaek base.  ROK-US Combined Forces Command in Yongsan, Seoul (Yonhap)“At the appropriate future time, ROK and US government leadership will announce an alliance decision on th

May 16, 2019

US reconnaissance aircraft patrol over Seoul: aviation tracker

US military reconnaissance aircraft flew over the Seoul metropolitan area Tuesday, in a move that appears aimed at reinforcing surveillance activities over the Korean Peninsula following North Korea’s recent projectile launches. According to Aircraft Spots, an aviation tracker site, the US Air Force’s RC-135W reconnaissance aircraft flew over Seoul and Gyeonggi Province on Tuesday. The reconnaissance aircraft also patrolled over South Korea on May 8, a day before Pyongyang fired two projectiles

May 14, 2019

[From the Scene] The first step toward military service: The medical exam

Upon receiving a letter from the Military Manpower Administration summoning him for his mandatory medical exam, Choi Seong-ryong, who had just turned 19, was both excited and worried. It signaled that he was now an adult with the responsibility to serve in the military.Technically still at war with North Korea, South Korea maintains a draft system that requires almost all able-bodied male citizens aged 19 to 36 to serve in the military for about two years. A mother and son get blood drawn at the

May 14, 2019

Defense Ministry says it is reinforcing missile defense system, amid rising concerns over NK threats

Seoul’s Defense Ministry said Monday that it was reinforcing its missile defense system, while maintaining that further analysis is needed to determine whether the short-range missiles fired by North Korea last week were ballistic missiles. Since North Korea fired multiple projectiles into the East Sea on May 4 and again Thursday, the South Korean government has delayed revealing the types of projectiles that were launched. The Defense Ministry confirmed that Thursday’s incident involved two sho

May 13, 2019

Moon orders military to fully implement inter-Korean deal on easing tensions

President Moon Jae-in instructed the military Friday to keep trying to reduce tensions and build confidence on the Korean Peninsula by faithfully implementing related defense agreements with North Korea.He issued the order, receiving a report from Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo, Gen. Park Han-Ki, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the top commanders of the Army, the Navy, the Air Force and Marine Corps at the presidential compound, Moon's office said.The session was held about three w

May 3, 2019

South Korea, US, Japan to hold defense talks next month in Seoul

Defense officials from South Korea, the US and Japan will meet here in early May for annual trilateral talks, the Defense Ministry said Sunday, amid tensions between Seoul and Tokyo over an incident in the East Sea in December. Japan has accused a South Korean warship of locking its fire-control radar on a Japanese maritime patrol aircraft, a claim South Korea denies.The goal of the Defense Trilateral Talks, which have been held every year since 2008, is to deepen cooperation on regional securit

April 28, 2019

Multinational maritime drills set to begin in Busan this week

South Korea, the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations and other partner countries will kick off a combined maritime security exercise in the southern port city of Busan this week, the Navy said Sunday.The two-part exercise aimed at countering maritime crime, including illicit transactions of weapons and other banned items, will take place in Busan from Monday to Thursday and in Singapore from May 9-13. (Yonhap)The exercise involves 18 member countries of the maritime security expert

April 28, 2019

War game envisions Korean Peninsula as one of major WWIII theaters

If World War III were to break out, the inter-Korean divide would likely be one of the major conflicts fought, and it could also trigger a nuclear war, a recent commentary suggests. That conclusion is based on the outcome of a war game recently conducted by a US Marine Corps school.In a commentary published on the website War on the Rocks, James Lacey, a professor of strategic studies at the Marine Corps War College in Quantico, Virginia, shared the results of a war game he recently conducted. I

April 26, 2019

Defense minister asks for US congress’ support for alliance

Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo met US congressional leaders Wednesday and asked for their unwavering support for the maintenance of the strong alliance between the two countries, his office said. During his meeting with Sen. Chris Coons and Sen. Maggie Hassan in Seoul, Jeong expressed appreciation for their support for peace-building initiatives on the Korean Peninsula, while noting that the Seoul-Washington alliance and the joint defense posture “are stronger than ever before.”Jeong Kyeong-d

April 24, 2019

Firefighting helicopter accidentally crosses border into North

A South Korean government helicopter briefly violated the border with North Korea during a mission to put out a forest fire, the Joint Chiefs of Staff has said.The helicopter affiliated with the Korea Forest Service accidentally flew around 1.7 kilometers north of the inter-Korean military demarcation line at around 6:09 p.m. Monday while trying to extinguish the fire in the border town of Hwacheon, Gangwon Province, according to the JCS. (Yonhap)One minute later, the helicopter returned to the

April 23, 2019

[Graphic News] S. Korea’s defense technology 9th in world

　South Korea’s defense technology ranked ninth in the world last year, with 80 percent of US levels, a state-run military research agency said.　According to the triennial report published by the Defense Agency for Technology and Quality, the comparative level of Korea’s overall defense technology was tied with Italy, among 16 major countries. 　The US topped the list, followed by France, Russia, Germany, and Britain. China was sixth, and Japan and Israel came next.

April 21, 2019