Marine Corps launches expanded mobile unit for N.K. contingencies

The Marine Corps has formed a new mobile unit tasked with attacking North Korea from the rear in the event of a contingency, a military official said Sunday.The regimental-level unit of 3,000 troops was launched in the southeastern coastal city of Pohang on March 1, dubbed "Spartan 3000," the official said.The troops will be on standby for deployment to all parts of the Korean Peninsula within 24 hours, tasked with destroying key military facilities in the North's rear during contingencies. In p

March 20, 2016

Key Resolve exercise ends 12-day run amid N. Korea's show of force

A festival highlighting Korea's traditional paper folding art titled "K-Jongie Jupgi" will be held in Paris in October, its organizer said Thursday.The Seoul-based Korea Paper Culture Foundation-World Jongie Jupgi Organization and the Korean language (hangeul) school in Paris signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) outlining the plan in the French capital.Under the MOU inked on Wednesday (local time), the two sides agreed to make a concerted effort to help globalize the traditional Korean pap

March 18, 2016

Key Resolve military exercise draws to end

One of two annual joint military exercises that South Korea and the United States launched last week has effectively come to an end Thursday, after the allies focused on preemptively deterring nuclear and missile threats by North Korea.The computer-based command post exercise Key Resolve wrapped up its simulation warfare portion earlier in the day, a military official said. The allies will have a one-day performance review on Friday before officially concluding the joint drill for this year, the

March 17, 2016

Navy conducts harbor protection drill at Donghae port

The South Korean Navy's 1st Fleet conducted a combined military exercise with the Army and related authorities to enhance the protection capabilities of Donghae port on the country's east coast.The exercise that took place late Wednesday focused on how to protect the fleet's main naval base, located some 280 kilometers east of Seoul, as well as civilian port facilities. The simulation drill was held as part of the ongoing annual South Korea-U.S. joint military exercise Key Resolve, which kicked

March 17, 2016

Korea joins Asia-Pacific cybersecurity drill

South Korea has participated in an international exercise against cyber terror this week, the government said Thursday, amid growing threats from North Korea.The Asia-Pacific Computer Emergency Response Team, a coalition of regional countries on promoting cybersecurity, conducted the annual drill on Wednesday, according to the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning. With the theme of "An Evolving Cyber Threat and Financial Fraud," it was joined by South Korea and 25 other nations.They revi

March 17, 2016

Defense Minister Han inspects on-going Key Resolve exercise

Defense Minister Han Min-koo inspected an on-going joint South Korea-U.S. military exercise on Wednesday as the joint drills between the allies continued for the 10th day despite North Korea's relentless protests."As the South Korea-U.S. alliance has hardened through hardship and ordeal, this Key Resolve exercise, held amid the on-going crisis, will further solidify the alliance," the top defense official said during his visit to the allies' Combined Forces Command, located inside U.S. military

March 16, 2016

Korea, U.S. bolster interoperability in river-crossing operations

South Korean and United States forces conducted a joint river-crossing exercise on Wednesday, mobilizing their engineer troops to lay a mobile pontoon bridge in a simulated combat situation, according to the military.The combined drill, held at an army training center in Icheon, 80 kilometers south of Seoul, assembled some 130 engineer and anti-aircraft combat troops from the both countries as well as armored vIehicles, anti-aircraft missiles and mobile bridge systems. The Wednesday exercise was

March 16, 2016

Coast Guard, Navy conduct interdiction drill on suspected ship

South Korea's Coast Guard and Navy successfully conducted an exercise off the southern port of Busan on Wednesday that checked their ability to intercept a North Korea-bound vessel loaded with banned cargo.The simulation drill was planned to effectively implement sanctions imposed by the United Nations Security Council and the South Korean government, following the North's fourth nuclear tests and long-range missile launch.The UN sanctions include the mandatory inspection of all cargo going in a

March 16, 2016

North Korean nuclear attack implausible: U.K. institute

Despite North Korea’s recent threat of nuclear strikes against South Korea and the U.S., the possibility of Pyongyang actually carrying out an attack is implausible, a U.K.-based expert said.The communist country’s tough rhetoric is likely to moderate “conventional behavior” from the allies and Japan, the expert noted. Karl Dewey, a senior analyst at London-based defense information provider IHS Jane’s, said that the North’s ability to escalate its nuclear weapons is unlikely, considering the U.

March 14, 2016

Marines storm Korean beach in massive joint amphibious attack exercise

Donut-shaped olive-green blasts of smoke grenades create a screen to obscure the approach of tracked armored vehicles that come ashore and disembark fully armed South Korean and American Marines onto a beachhead.The soldiers instantly storm the quiet, sandy beach in the small east coastal town of Pohang, South Korea.When the smoke clears, the first wave of troops are in their positions on the beachhead awaiting orders to advance further inland. Following the first wave, another set of troops arr

March 14, 2016

U.S. aircraft carrier arrives in Korea

A U.S. nuclear-powered supercarrier arrived in South Korea Sunday to join a combined exercise, the military here said.The USS John C. Stennis (CVN-74) made a port visit to Busan, 450 kilometers southeast of Seoul, to join the March 7-18 Key Resolve military exercise between South Korea and the United States.The 103,000-ton aircraft carrier will lead the 7,000-strong USS John C. Stennis Strike Group.Three other guided-missile destroyers - the USS Stockdale, USS Chung-Hoon and USS William P. Lawre

March 13, 2016

USFK chief tapped as NATO's top commander

WASHINGTON (Yonhap) -- U.S. Forces Korea Commander Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti has been named as NATO's top military commander, Defense Secretary Ash Carter announced Friday.President Barack Obama nominated Scaparrotti to replace Gen. Philip Breedlove as NATO's supreme allied commander Europe, and NATO has also agreed to the appointment, Carter said in a statement.In addition to the NATO position, Scaparrotti will be assigned as commander of U.S. European Command, he said."General Scaparrotti's prov

March 12, 2016

Seoul, Washington roll out joint landing drill

South Korea and the United States on Saturday staged a massive landing drill in an eastern coastal port city, the largest of its kind, amid continued provocations from Pyongyang.The latest exercise mobilized 17,200 soldiers, including around 12,200 U.S. Marine and Navy troops in Pohang for the exercise, South Korea's Marine Corps said. Sources said the drill mobilized key U.S. vessels including the USS Bonhomme Richard and amphibious dock landing ship USS Ashland.The drill also focused on destro

March 12, 2016

Record number of Australian, New Zealand troops taking part in joint military drill

A record number of troops from Australia and New Zealand are taking part in the ongoing joint military exercises between South Korea and the United States, which aim to bolster the allied forces' ability to deal with emergency situations, a military official said Friday.Seoul and Washington kicked off the annual Key Resolve and Foal Eagle exercises for a weekslong run Monday in South Korea, mobilizing some 300,000 local troops, along with 17,000 U.S. forces.The Key Resolve is a two-week command

March 11, 2016

Royce nominates late Korean-American war hero for Presidential Medal of Freedom

The chairman of the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee has nominated late Korean-American war hero Kim Young-oak for this year's Presidential Medal of Freedom, his office said Thursday.Chairman Ed Royce (R-CA) sent a letter to President Barack Obama last month to nominate the late retired colonel, the office said. Kim, a son of a Korean independence fighter, was the first minority officer to command an Army combat battalion in American history."Colonel Kim served with exceptional valor in the

March 11, 2016

Korea deploys anti-aircraft missiles along maritime border

South Korea has deployed a newly developed anti-aircraft missile system along the maritime border with North Korea in the Yellow Sea, a military official said Thursday."The surface-to-air guided missile system, Cheongung, was placed in the northwest islands area early this year to defend it from North Korean aircraft," the military official said, asking not to be named.The system can intercept North Korean airplanes or other hostile aircraft penetrating into South Korean airspace with almost no

March 10, 2016

Korea to tighten airport security

South Korea will push forward measures to beef up security at the country's major airports in the wake of serious breaches that have raised questions about the operational safeguards in place at these critical facilities, the government said Thursday.Security and anti-terrorism measures at international airports across the country will be tightened significantly to prevent any illegal entry into the country, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.In recent months, Incheo

March 10, 2016

Korea, U.S. upgrading combined air operations command center

South Korea and the United States are upgrading their command center for combined air operations in a bid to intensify information sharing on North Korea, a military official said Wednesday.The overhaul of the Korean Air and Space Operations Center that kicked off last year will take several years to finish, the official said, asking not to be named."Currently, it is in the initial stages and redesign is underway," he noted. The KAOC, at the United States Force Korea's Osan Air Base, commands an

March 9, 2016