Military hopes for summit breakthrough in easing border tension

South Korea's military said Friday the inter-Korean summit talks next week may lead the two Koreas to let their guards down along the heavily fortified border.The South's President Moon Jae-in is scheduled to meet with his North Korean counterpart, Kim Jong-un, at the border village of Panmunjom inside the demilitarized zone on April 27. Among key agenda items are denuclearization and ways to reduce military tensions. (Yonhap)Some have floated the idea of the two sides withdrawing heavy weapons

April 20, 2018

Military training on inter-Korean summit day still up in air

South Korea and the United States have yet to decide whether to continue their combined military exercises through the inter-Korean summit day next week, a defense official said Thursday.The allies kicked off the Foal Eagle field training in Korea on April 1 with an announcement that it will last four weeks. They are also scheduled to start the Key Resolve simulation-based, command-post drill next Monday.It's an open secret that the two sides plan to wrap up Foal Eagle, ostensibly before next Fr

April 19, 2018

Military says no mechanical problem in F-15K crash

South Korea's Air Force announced Wednesday it has found no evidence of any mechanical failure related to the deadly crash of an F-15K fighter jet earlier this month.It suggests the possibility of human error or an unknown "environmental factor" behind the accident that killed two pilots.The aircraft crashed into a 839-meter-high mountain in Chilgok, North Gyeongsang Province, on April 5.The F-15K aircraft crashed into a mountain in Chilgok, North Gyeongsang Province, on April 5 on its way back

April 18, 2018

Korea to join US-led Air Force engineer exercise

South Korea's Air Force said Tuesday it will take part in a multinational civil engineer training hosted by the US Pacific Air Forces.The Silver Flag drill is scheduled to open on Wednesday for an 11-day run at Andersen Air Force Base in Guam.The annual practice is aimed at strengthening partnerships and promoting interoperability among civil engineers across the region in dealing with various contingency situations.South Korea's Air Force service members plan to participate in eight programs --

April 17, 2018

USFK command to relocate to Pyeongtaek in summer: sources

The Yongsan era of the US Forces Korea will draw to a close in the coming months with an official transfer ceremony at an expanded base south of Seoul, defense sources here said Monday."The USFK headquarters will relocate to Camp Humphreys by June or July. A transfer ceremony is provisionally slated for early July," an informed source told Yonhap News Agency. "No date has been fixed yet, with the USFK leadership currently preoccupied with preparing for the (upcoming) South-North summit talks."Ge

April 16, 2018

S. Korea's defense minister leaves for UAE to discuss defense industry cooperation

South Korean Defense Minister Song Young-moo left for the United Arab Emirates on Sunday for a four-day visit to discuss ways to strengthen military cooperation.Song is expected to focus on follow-up measures to an agreement reached between President Moon Jae-in and UAE Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan in Abu Dhabi in late March. File photo of Defense Minister Song Young-moo (Yonhap)Song plans to discuss cooperation on arms development with his UAE counterpart, Mohammed Ahmed Al Bowardi

April 15, 2018

Defense ministries of S. Korea, US deny increase in USFK troops

The number of United States Forces Korea troops has remained unchanged at about 28,500, South Korea's defense ministry said Saturday, denying media reports of possible troop increases.Some recent news reports said that the number of USFK troops has increased to 32,000.Those reports came after US President Donald Trump gave a public speech March 29 suggesting about 32,000 American troops were protecting South Korea from North Korea. Camp Humphreys (Yonhap)Asked to comment on the reports, the mini

April 14, 2018

Defense Minister to visit UAE next week

　South Korea’s Defense Minister is scheduled to visit the United Arab Emirates next week in a bid to boost bilateral ties in the military procurement following the summit last month, Seoul’s Defense Ministry said Thursday. 　The Ministry of National Defense confirmed that Defense Minister Song Young-moo will visit the UAE April 15- April 18. The trip is aimed at following up on the agreement made during President Moon Jae-in’s recent visit to the UAE, where the two sides agreed to move the bilate

April 12, 2018

Korea, US kick off 2nd round of military cost-sharing talks

South Korea and the United States started their second round of talks Wednesday to renew their cost-sharing agreement for the about 28,500 American troops stationed here.The two-day talks started on South Korea's southern resort island of Jeju earlier in the day, following their first round of meetings held last month on Hawaii. "First of all, I would like to extend my sincere welcome to senior adviser Betts and the US delegation upon your visit to Korea, especially to the beautiful Jeju Island,

April 11, 2018

Korea confident about advanced radar development

South Korea said Wednesday it's confident about developing its own advanced radar system for envisioned indigenous combat jets.The defense authorities launched the 360-billion-won ($338 million) program in 2016 to acquire an active electronically scanned array radar system.It's part of the ongoing KF-X fighter development project, worth 8.8 trillion won, to replace the Air Force's aging fleet of F-4 and F-5 jets.The state-run Agency for Defense Development is leading the radar initiative. It has

April 11, 2018

Korea, US wrap up weeklong combined exercise

South Korea and the United States wrapped up a massive combined exercise Sunday after their weeklong maneuvers.The two sides kicked off the Ssangyong, or Twin Dragon, drills last Sunday near Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province, as part of the annual Foal Eagle field training between the allies.South Korea said the combined exercise ended earlier in the day as scheduled and the US forces that joined the exercise will return to their bases, for instance in Okinawa, Japan. (Yonhap)Among the US assets

April 8, 2018

S. Korea's Army to create reserve forces command

South Korea plans to launch an Army command Friday in a bid to facilitate the mobilization of reserve forces for the forces' founding anniversary.The move is part of efforts to make the country's 625,000-strong troops as agile and strong as possible.The number of active duty soldiers will decrease to half a million by 2022 under the Moon Jae-in administration defense reform scheme."(We) should further bolster the combat power of reserve forces to minimize the combat power vacuum from the reducti

April 6, 2018

S. Korean, US marines cancel 'D-Day' landing drill due to weather

South Korean and US marines have called off a massive combined amphibious landing exercise this week due to adverse weather, the combined command announced Wednesday.They had planned to stage the so-called D-Day landing operation, reminiscent of the Invasion of Normandy, on a beach of the southern coastal city of Pohang on Thursday. (Yonhap)It was canceled "after weather assessments indicated unsafe landing conditions for service members," the Combined Forces Command said in a press statement. "

April 4, 2018

Korea's Navy to receive new landing ship

Korea's Navy will take over a new 4,500-ton landing ship featuring speedier and larger-load operations on Monday, the state arms agency said.The Defense Acquisition Program Administration plans to hand over the Ilchulbong vessel to the Navy in a ceremony to be held at Hyundai Heavy Industries' shipyard in Ulsan.It will be the Navy's third Cheonwangbong-class landing ship (LST-II) following the Cheonwangbong and Cheonjabong vessels. They are named after mountain peaks in Korea.The 127-meter-long

April 2, 2018

South Korea in efforts to rescue sailors kidnapped in waters off Ghana

South Korea has deployed an anti-piracy naval vessel to the sea off Ghana, and is cooperating with other nations to rescue three South Korean sailors supposedly kidnapped by pirates, Seoul’s Foreign Ministry said late Saturday.　The ministry said unidentified pirates appeared to have kidnapped the three Korean sailors, along with one Greek national and one Ghanaian national, on Monday (local time) and used a speed boat to take them away. 　An official from the ministry told The Korea Herald that t

April 1, 2018

S. Korean, US troops begin joint field training

A combined field training of South Korean and US troops got under way Sunday as scheduled, defense officials said amid a nascent peace mood on the divided peninsula.More than 11,500 service members, including thousands based outside of Korea, plan to participate in the four-week Foal Eagle training, along with around 300,000 South Korean soldiers. The allies often kick off their largest annual military exercise in late February or early March for a two-month run. This year, however, they waited

April 1, 2018

S. Korea’s first stealth fighter unveiled

Following its first public debut of F-35A fighter jets, South Korea kick-started its efforts to deploy the fifth-generation stealth fighters amid growing uncertainty over the security landscape ahead of its summit with North Korea. US aerospace giant Lockheed Martin unveiled its first batch of F-35A fighter jets to be delivered to South Korea on Wednesday in Fort Worth, Texas, USA. The event was celebrated by the allies’ senior acquisition and defense officials, including South Korea’s Vice Defe

March 29, 2018

Pilot error to blame for crash of Black Eagles jet: Air Force

Following a monthslong investigation into the crash of an aircraft participating in an international air show in Singapore in February, the Air Force announced Wednesday the accident was caused by a pilot error during preparation for take-off. According to the Air Force, the pilot from the Black Eagles aerobatic team failed to abide by the emergency procedure when the T-50 Golden Eagle aircraft skidded off the runway at Changi Airport during the 2018 Singapore Airshow on Feb. 6. The Air Force sa

March 28, 2018

Korea may agree to pay more for US troops: Victor Cha

South Korea may agree to shoulder a larger burden of the cost of stationing US troops on its soil as part of the two nations' deal on trade, a former White House official said Monday.Victor Cha, who served as Asian affairs director on the National Security Council of George W. Bush, raised the possibility shortly after Seoul announced a tentative deal with Washington on amending their free trade agreement and exempting the Asian nation from new US steel tariffs."If there is any tacit issue linka

March 27, 2018

Navy stages drills to commemorate 2010 Cheonan sinking

South Korea's Navy conducted sea drills in the country's eastern and southern waters Monday on the eighth anniversary of a deadly torpedo attack by North Korea, a defense official said.More than 10 warships were mobilized, along with aircraft, with exercises in the Yellow Sea canceled due to bad weather. (Yonhap)The Navy staged the exercise to mark the anniversary of the Cheonan corvette sinking. It went down near the Northern Limit Line, the de-facto maritime border between the two Koreas, on M

March 26, 2018