President Park Geun-hye on Wednesday visited a front-line Army unit to offer her encouragement and to call for a robust readiness posture, her office Cheong Wa Dae said, amid a spike in tensions triggered by North Korea's submarine-launched ballistic missile launch and its menacing rhetoric.Accompanied by Defense Minister Han Min-koo and dozens of senior military and government officials, the commander-in-chief met with border troops who are participating in the ongoing annual military drills jo

Aug. 24, 2016

The South Korean Army on Tuesday conducted a joint military drill with police, government officials and private experts to counter possible terrorist attacks by North Korea, officials said.South Korea's 2nd Operations Command said that the joint anti-terror exercise was conducted at a football stadium in Daegu, some 302 kilometers south of Seoul, as part of the broader ongoing annual military exercise between South Korea and the United States.The Army's drill, which involved some 250 personnel a

Aug. 23, 2016

A top South Korean financial regulator on Tuesday called on the international community to intensify joint efforts to fight against North Korea's financing for its weapons of mass destruction program."The steady growth of WMDs has been threatening the whole world. We are facing an imminent nuclear threat from North Korea," Jeong Eun-bo, vice chairman of the Financial Services Commission, said in a speech at an annual workshop of the Asia Pacific Group on Money Laundering in Seoul."We must urgent

Aug. 23, 2016

The South Korean parliamentary intelligence body on Tuesday said easing the public's health concerns over the deployment of a US missile defense system must take top priority, adding the government's move to choose an alternative spot cannot end protests.Earlier this week, South Korea said it will consider an alternative site for the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system, as residents of Seongju, a southern county designated earlier to host the system, staged protests claiming the system ha

Aug. 23, 2016

National Assembly Speaker Chung Sye-kyun on Tuesday said South Korean parties must overcome differences on the deployment of an advanced U.S. missile defense system in the country, adding the issue should not weigh on the unity of the political segment."Now is the moment to come up with a conclusion that overcomes ideologies and political tensions to minimize public division," Chung said. South Korean parties have been divided over the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense in the

Aug. 23, 2016

South Korea's defense ministry on Monday said it will check alternative sites for the deployment of an advanced US missile defense system after residents of Seongju county formally requested that other locations be examined for suitability.The announcement came as residents living near a state-chosen site for the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense asked Seoul to review different sites within their county to deploy the defensive system, instead of the original site, which is currently used as a

Aug. 22, 2016

South Korea and the United States kicked off their annual joint exercise Ulchi Freedom Guardian on Monday to maintain their combined forces' readiness against North Korea's potential aggression amid Pyongyang's threats to launch a pre-emptive nuclear strike.The allies' Combined Forces Command said the drill will run to Sept. 2, and involve about 75,000 troops, including 25,000 from the U.S. side.As the countries opened the command and control exercise earlier in the day, they told North Korea of

Aug. 22, 2016

Three Chinese military planes "briefly" flew into an overlapping air defense intensification zone of South Korea and China amid tensions between the two countries over Seoul's decision to place a missile defense system on its soil, a military source in Seoul said Monday.The Chinese planes, including a bomber engaging in its own military operations, flew into the airspace near South Korea's southern island of Jeju on Thursday, without prior notification, but left shortly after the South Korean mi

Aug. 22, 2016

South Korea's Army has launched a campaign to overhaul its deep-rooted heavy drinking culture, official sources said Sunday."The Army's top command started a campaign to discourage excess drinking among troops in late July," an insider said.The move is aimed at keeping rank-and-file troops more healthy and combat ready at a time when there is an escalation of threats from North Korea.He said that notices have been issued to remind military personnel to give up bad habits such as forcing people t

Aug. 21, 2016

South Korea will kick off its annual Ulchi exercise this week to better prepare for national emergency situations, the Ministry of Public Safety and Security said Sunday.The drill that runs from Monday through Thursday is the 49th of its kind and comes amid heightened tensions on the Korean Peninsula following North Korea's fourth nuclear test and long-range missile launch earlier this year.The ministry said this year, emphasis will be placed on dealing with North Korea's frequent global positio

Aug. 21, 2016

South Korea's Navy will arm its latest frigates with tactical missiles that can strike deep into North Korea, a military source said Sunday.The plan calls for arming the Incheon-class ships with land-attack missiles that have a range of 150-200 kilometers. The missiles, to be loaded onto the ships starting in September, will allow the frigates the ability to attack key targets in the communist country's interior from the sea."Initially, the plan was to arm batch 2 Incheon-class ships with the ta

Aug. 21, 2016