Moon urges efforts to build 'stronger' military to deter N. Korean provocations

President Moon Jae-in called on his top military officers Friday to build up the country's defense capabilities to overwhelm and prevent North Korea from making any reckless provocations.During a meeting with some 150 military commanders, he also directed them to prepare for an early transfer of wartime operational control of South Korean troops from the United States."Right now, our military faces a very serious situation where North Korea's nuclear and missile threats are fast becoming more re

Dec. 8, 2017

Moon to meet top military commanders over lunch

President Moon Jae-in was set to hold a meeting with the country's top military commanding officers Friday.The meeting will be held over lunch at the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae, involving some 190 commanders from the three armed services.It will mark Moon's second meeting with top military commanders since taking office in May, and the first of its kind following a personnel reshuffle that replaced the chiefs of staff of all three armed services and other military commanders.The president

Dec. 8, 2017

Korea to develop advanced bomb disposal robot

South Korea said Friday it will start developing a state-of-the-art bomb disposal robot for military use.The Defense Acquisition Program Administration plans to hold an inaugural R&D meeting at a research center of Hanwha Land Systems, a local contractor, in Pangyo, Gyeonggi Province, later in the day.The state arms agency aims to complete the first stage development process to simulate the system operation and manufacture a prototype by 2019. It will then begin mass production.  An image of a b

Dec. 8, 2017

Two B-1B bombers train over Yellow Sea

The US flew two B-1B supersonic bombers over Korea on Thursday, the second sortie carried out here this week by the Guam-based aircraft, a defense official said.The Lancer bombers trained with more than 20 of the allies' fighter jets as part of their annual Vigilant ACE air force practice.They entered the Korean Air Defense Identification Zone through the sky over the waters south of Jeju Island and conducted simulated bombing drills over the Yellow Sea near North Korea and China, according to t

Dec. 7, 2017

Female reporter named as defense ministry's spokesperson

South Korea said Thursday it has picked Choi Hyun-soo, a female journalist, as the defense ministry's spokesperson.It's unprecedented for a female reporter to be installed in the position, a move that reflects the Moon Jae-in administration's resolve for the reform and civilian control of the military, according to the Ministry of National Defense. Choi Hyun-soo, new spokesperson for South Korea`s defense ministry in a photo provided by the ministry (Yonhap)Choi, a veteran journalist at the Kukm

Dec. 7, 2017

Korean defense chief requests Mongolia's support in handling NK nukes

The defense ministers of South Korea and Mongolia agreed Thursday to work together to resolve the North Korean nuclear and missile issue in their talks here, Seoul's defense ministry said.The country's defense chief, Song Yong-moo, asked Mongolia to take an active part in the international community's sanctions on North Korea for its illicit weapons development.Song requested Mongolia's efforts to persuade the North to denuclearize itself in consideration of their traditional diplomatic ties, ac

Dec. 7, 2017

Korea's top negotiator hopes 'win-win' from military cost sharing talks with US

South Korea's top negotiator on defense cost sharing talks with the United States said Thursday that he will do his best to produce an outcome that will be a "win-win" for the two allies.Chang Won-sam, who was appointed to the post in mid-November, said that the negotiations between Seoul and Washington should be understood as a process of improving "efficiency" in bilateral alliance."This can be said to be negotiations, as money comes and goes, but I think that they should be thought of as a pr

Dec. 7, 2017

Navy erects bust of US commander in Korean War

South Korea's Navy said Thursday it will unveil a bust of a late US commander in memory of his contributions to the growth of the country's naval forces during his wartime service here six decades ago.The sculpture of Capt. Michael J. Luosey will be formally made public at a ceremony to be held at the Naval Academy in Jinhae, South Gyeongsang Province, later in the day.Luosey served as the head of the Commander Task Group with the operational control of South Korea's Navy during the 1950-53 Kore

Dec. 7, 2017

Korea's defense budget to rise 7% to W43.2tr

South Korea will raise its military budget next year to 43.2 trillion won ($39.7 billion) to support the Moon Jae-in administration's campaign to beef up the country's defense capabilities against North Korea, the authorities said Wednesday.According to the budget plan approved by the National Assembly earlier in the day, military spending will grow 7 percent on-year, the biggest hike since 2009.The budget has increased by 40.4 billion won more than the government originally proposed after a rev

Dec. 6, 2017

US has no plan to move military dependents out of Korea: Pentagon

WASHINGTON -- The United States currently has no plan to move military dependents out of South Korea despite rising tensions with North Korea, the Pentagon said Tuesday.About 28,500 US troops are stationed in South Korea to deter North Korean aggression after the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a truce, not a peace treaty.Commenting on North Korea's latest launch of a long-range missile last week, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) argued Sunday that the US should stop sending military dependents to South K

Dec. 6, 2017

US-South Korea ‘biggest-ever’ air combat drill kicks off

The South Korean and US militaries on Monday kicked off their biggest-ever combined air force exercise, involving two dozen US stealth fighters, in a show of force against North Korea’s escalating nuclear and missile threats. 　The two countries’ air forces launched their annual Vigilant Ace 18 drill, which involves six F-22 Raptors, six F-35A and 12 F-35B stealth fighter jets, according to the South Korean and US air forces. A total of 12,000 US personnel from the air force, marines and navy wil

Dec. 4, 2017

S. Korea says allies' ongoing air drill is defensive in nature

South Korea's unification ministry said Monday that a joint air force drill between Seoul and Washington is defensive in nature, rejecting North Korea's condemnation of the exercise.A spokesman at North Korea's foreign ministry on Saturday denounced the exercise as a large-scale nuclear war drill against North Korea. The five-day Vigilant Ace war games kicked off Monday, days after the North fired a long-range missile."The air force drill is an annual joint military exercise among the allies of

Dec. 4, 2017

Korea, US begin massive air combat drills

South Korea and the United States kicked off a major air force exercise here Monday against North Korea's threats, with two dozen US stealth jets mobilized.The five-day Vigilant ACE (air combat exercise) comes less than a week after the North fired a new intercontinental ballistic missile and declared the completion of its "nuclear force."The annual training has drawn keen media attention, although it was scheduled before the provocation.It's known as the largest-ever combined air force drill be

Dec. 4, 2017

F-22, F-35 stealth fighter jets in Korea for joint training

A dozen US F-22 and F-35 stealth fighter jets have arrived in South Korea for a regular joint exercise with South Korean forces, a defense ministry source said Sunday.The allies plan to kick off the five-day VIGILANT ACE 18 practice Monday, which would demonstrate their combined air power against North Korea.It comes days after the North fired a new intercontinental ballistic missile and elevated tensions in the region. A F-22 Raptor stealth fighter jet in a file photo (Yonhap)The exercise will

Dec. 3, 2017

Six US F-22 stealth fighter jets arrive in S. Korea for joint air drills

Six U.S. F-22 Raptor stealth fighter jets arrived in South Korea on Saturday for joint air drills between Seoul and Washington slated for next week in a show of force against North Korea.The fighter planes will join the allies' annual airborne exercise named Vigilant Ace to be held from Dec. 4-8, according to the South Korean Air Force.They are capable of accurately hitting key targets without being detected by an enemy's radar. It will be the first time for six F-22 stealth fighter planes to fl

Dec. 2, 2017

Allies not considering naval blockade on NK

Military options and naval blockade of North Korea are not being discussed between Seoul and Washington, a high-level presidential official said Friday denying related news reports.(Yonhap)On Friday, a high-level Cheong Wa Dae official told the local media that President Moon Jae-in and US President Donald Trump did not discuss any such measures during their earlier telephone conversations. Since North Korea launched an intercontinental ballistic missile in the early hours of Wednesday, Moon and

Dec. 1, 2017

Parliamentary speaker defends THAAD deployment during talks with Chinese official

South Korea's National Assembly Speaker Chung Sye-kyun defended the deployment of a US missile defense system during talks with a senior Chinese official on Thursday, a day after North Korea test-fired an intercontinental ballistic missile.During the meeting with Leung Chun-ying, vice chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, Chung also stressed the need for joint efforts to normalize bilateral ties strained over the installation of the Termina

Nov. 30, 2017

Opposition leader urges Moon to keep military options against NK threats

The leader of the minor opposition Bareun Party raised pressure on President Moon Jae-in on Thursday to remain open to military options as "strategic cards" to counter North Korea's escalating nuclear threats.Yoo Seong-min made the remarks a day after Moon clarified his opposition to Washington's possible recourse to a pre-emptive strike following the North's pre-dawn test of another long-range missile capable of striking the continental United States."The redeployment of US tactical nuclear arm

Nov. 30, 2017

S. Korea, US vow close coordination against NK threats

The top military officers of South Korea and the United States agreed Wednesday to strengthen close coordination against North Korea's nuclear and missile threats after the North's launch of a long-range missile.Gen. Jeong Kyeong-doo, chairman of South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff, held phone talks with his US counterpart, Gen. Joseph F. Dunford, hours after North Korea's provocations, the South's military said. This photo, provided by South Korea`s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) on Oct. 14, 2017

Nov. 29, 2017

Yongsan US base shows high water pollution level above threshold: govt.

The US military base in central Seoul has groundwater contaminated with harmful petroleum chemicals up to hundreds of times above the permissible limit, government reports showed Wednesday. The Ministries of Environment and Foreign Affairs revealed the environmental reports on the US Yongsan base conducted twice earlier in the year, a move that followed an appellate court ruling made early this month in favor of civic groups that sought the public disclosure of the reports.The reports are based

Nov. 29, 2017