93-year-old British veteran to sing Arirang to commemorate Korean War

When British veteran Colin Thackery first heard Korean military men singing Arirang on the battlefield during the 1950-53 Korean War, he could not have known what the song was about and that he himself would be belting it out 70 years later in the country he had fought for. “When we first heard Arirang, we didn't know what it was. We thought it was a lullaby or a national anthem because we heard it so often. But it’s very familiar to everybody now. It has such a pretty tune,&rdq

July 25, 2023

Defense ministry creates new bureau for advanced military assets

The defense ministry on Tuesday established a new bureau for advanced military assets to better pursue government policies in creating a military based on state-of-the-art technologies. The bureau for advanced assets will be tasked with overseeing efforts to introduce combat systems that employ both manned and unmanned assets under the Yoon Suk Yeol administration's vision of building a strong military backed by cutting-edge technologies, the ministry said. The ministry also established a n

July 25, 2023

Military analyzing NK missile launches at odd hours

North Korea fired two ballistic missiles toward the waters off its east coast late Monday night in apparent protest against the arrival of a US Navy nuclear-powered submarine in South Korea. The two short-range ballistic missiles were launched from near the capital city of Pyongyang on Monday between 11:55 p.m. and midnight, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said. The military has been analyzing the intentions behind North Korea's late-night missile firings, which mark the third set

July 25, 2023

S. Korea removes state burial record of Gen. Paik as pro-Japanese figure

South Korea's veterans ministry said Monday it has deleted a state burial record describing Korean War hero Gen. Paik Sun-yup as a pro-Japanese figure, saying that such an expression was written with no legal grounds. The ministry said it has decided to remove a phrase identifying Paik as a person who engaged in pro-Japanese and anti-national activities in the late general's online burial record on the Daejeon National Cemetery's website, a term that strikes a sour note due to Jap

July 24, 2023

US nuclear-powered submarine arrives to Jeju

A US Navy nuclear-powered submarine entered the South Korean naval base on Jeju Island on Monday morning to replenish military supplies during an operational mission, South Korea’s Navy said in a statement. South Korean and US navies have also been discussing staging combined military exercises such as an anti-submarine warfare exercise during the visit by the US submarine, a military official who wished to remain anonymous told The Korea Herald. The main mission of Los Angeles-class fast

July 24, 2023

Unification Ministry to downsize inter-Korean dialogue units

South Korea's Unification Ministry will undergo significant restructuring and downsizing, after President Yoon Suk Yeol urged for a structural shake-up amid the prolonged deadlock in inter-Korean relations. Under the guidance of the presidential office, Vice Unification Minister Moon Seoung-hyun, who assumed office early this month, has been at the forefront of reorganizing internal divisions as well as affiliated agencies responsible for inter-Korean dialogue and exchanges, The Korea Heral

July 23, 2023

Yoon touts solidarity on US sub

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Wednesday boarded the USS Kentucky, an Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine, in a show of solidarity and force with its biggest ally in deterring North Korea's evolving nuclear missile threats. The visit by President Yoon and first lady Kim Keon Hee came hours after North Korea fired two short-range missiles in an apparent protest against the arrival of the US nuclear-capable submarine in South Korea and the inaugural meeting of the new Nuclear Cons

July 19, 2023

N.Korea fires two missiles as US sends nuclear submarine

North Korea fired two ballistic missiles toward the waters off its eastern coast on Wednesday, apparently in protest against the arrival of the US Navy's nuclear-capable ballistic missile submarine in South Korea and the inaugural meeting of the new Nuclear Consultative Group between the allies the previous day. The two short-range ballistic missiles were launched from Sunan district in the capital city of Pyongyang between 03:30 a.m. and 03:46 a.m., according to South Korea's Joint Ch

July 19, 2023

US nuclear submarine enters S.Korea in decades as allies launch new nuclear group

The US Navy's nuclear-capable ballistic missile submarine entered Busan in South Korea on Tuesday afternoon, on the day the allies officially launched a new nuclear consultative group to develop scenarios and response protocols in the event of a North Korean nuclear attack on the Korean Peninsula. US National Security Coordinator for the Indo Pacific Affairs Kurt Campbell made a surprise announcement after the inaugural meeting of the Nuclear Consultative Group, or NCG, took place at the So

July 18, 2023

S. Korea to join US-led cyber drill

South Korea’s Cyber Operations Command will take part in an annual US-led virtual exercise throughout next week to boost readiness against threats in what is increasingly becoming a new battlefront for the military, the South Korean Defense Ministry said Monday. The Cyber Flag drill, running from Monday to Friday next week, is meant to bolster not only cybersecurity by simulating defense and sharing information, but ties among the participants led by the Five Eyes network -- an intelligenc

July 17, 2023

S. Korea, US, Japan hold missile defense drills in East Sea after N. Korea's ICBM launch

South Korea, the United States and Japan staged a trilateral missile defense exercise in the international waters of the East Sea on Sunday, Seoul's Navy said, after North Korea's launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile last week. The drills took place as the three countries have been reinforcing security coordination amid Pyongyang's continued saber-rattling this year, highlighted by the firing of a Hwasong-18 solid-fuel ICBM last Wednesday. The exercise featured three Ae

July 16, 2023

In Kyiv, S. Korean leader pledges increased military aid to Ukraine

WARSAW, Poland -- South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol pledged increased military aid as well as humanitarian support to Ukraine, a nation ravaged by war, during his surprise visit to Kyiv on Saturday. Yoon had a 65-minute private meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to discuss pending issues between the two countries and a 45-minute extended meeting with key officials from both governments. At a joint press conference held following the summit, Yoon vowed to increase Korea&rsquo

July 15, 2023

S. Korea, US agree to strengthen cooperation against N. Korean nuke, WMD threats

Defense officials of South Korea and the United States have agreed to reinforce joint efforts to address threats from North Korea's nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction during their talks in Washington, Seoul's defense ministry said Friday. Kim Sung-koo, deputy chief of the ministry's policy planning bureau, and Richard C. Johnson, US deputy assistant secretary of defense for nuclear and countering WMD Policy, led the Counter WMD Committee session on Wednesday and Thursda

July 14, 2023

S. Korea, Saudi Arabia hold senior-level defense talks in Riyadh

South Korea and Saudi Arabia have held vice ministerial defense talks in Riyadh to discuss ways to boost arms industry cooperation, Seoul's defense ministry said Tuesday. Vice Defense Minister Shin Beom-chul and Fayyadh bin Hamed Al-Ruwaili, chief of Saudi Arabia's General Staff, attended the third session of the bilateral committee on defense cooperation Monday, as the two sides have sought to bolster cooperation since their leaders' summit in Seoul last November. Shin noted the

July 11, 2023

US urges N. Korea to halt escalatory actions following EEZ violation accusation

A US state department spokesperson called on North Korea to refrain from escalatory actions on Monday, hours after North Korea accused the United States of violating North Korean airspace within their exclusive economic zone. The department spokesperson, Matthew Miller, also reiterated that the US remains open to dialogue with Pyongyang. "I would just say that we would urge the DPRK to refrain from escalatory actions, and again, calling it to engage in serious and sustained diplomacy,"

July 11, 2023

S. Korea identifies remains of another Korean War soldier

S. Korea's military has identified the remains of another soldier killed during the 1950-53 Korean War, some five years after their discovery at a former battle site, the defense ministry said Thursday. The ministry's Agency for KIA Recovery and Identification and the Army's 21st Infantry Division recovered the remains of No Gwan-su, who held a rank equivalent to the current sergeant, in Yanggu, 113 kilometers northeast of Seoul, in 2018. KIA stands for killed in action. The agenc

July 6, 2023

[Photo News] COMMEMORATING SACRIFICE

[COMMEMORATING SACRIFICE] A group of foreign defense attaches in South Korea pose for photo at an event held to honor the sacrifices made by South Korean troops in a fatal inter-Korean naval skirmish in 2002. Brig. Gen. Shamim Islam of the Bangladesh Air Force, head of an association of foreign attaches in Korea, donated 629,000 won ($480) to a scholarship foundation established in 2014, said the South Korean Navy in a press release Wednesday. The donation, made on behalf of the attaches, aims t

July 5, 2023

Military Manpower commissioner against conscripting women, military exemption for BTS

The head of South Korea's Military Manpower Agency on Wednesday said he opposes the idea of expanding military conscription to female citizens and extending the mandatory military service period for eligible male citizens as potential solutions to address manpower shortages within the military. "It seems impractical to extend the shortened period of military service. In my opinion, it's impossible," said Lee Ki-sik, the commissioner of the Military Manpower Administration, du

July 5, 2023

N. Korea satellite had 'no military utility,' says S. Korea

South Korea and the United States have assessed that the reconnaissance satellite launched by North Korea in May has "no military utility" because its imaging equipment lacks the required resolution, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said Wednesday. The JCS announced the results of the analysis conducted on the debris of North Korea's spy satellite and space launch vehicle that the South Korean military salvaged in the West Sea. "The major components of North Korea

July 5, 2023

S. Korean, US Army troops to stage combined drills in California desert next month

South Korean and US Army troops will stage a joint four-week exercise in a desert in California next month, officials said Wednesday, as the allies seek to bolster their combined operational capabilities. Some 150 personnel, including those from the 7th Maneuver Corps' air assault unit and the Capital Mechanized Infantry Division, will join the drills set to take place at the US National Training Center in the Mojave Desert in California from Aug. 2 to 31, according to the South Korean Army

July 5, 2023