Ex-Navy officer jailed for corruption

A Seoul appellate court has upheld the guilty verdict of a former naval officer who was convicted of bribery tied to a faulty rescue and salvage ship that failed to save lives during a deadly ferry sinking last year.  The former Navy lieutenant, identified only by his family name Jeong, was found guilty of receiving 308 million won ($275,000) between 2010 and 2012 from a parts supplier he helped win contracts to provide mooring equipment for the nation's first rescue and salvage ship, the Tongye

June 10, 2015

Army colonel jailed for bribery

An Army colonel was sentenced to a two-year jail term Tuesday for receiving bribes in exchange for helping former and active-duty officers find employment, the Ministry of National Defense said.  The colonel, surnamed Song, was convicted of accepting kickbacks from some seven active-duty service personnel or reservists who asked him for job placement at defense companies over the past three years, according to the ministry in a release.  Song was arrested in January on charges of taking an unide

June 9, 2015

Seoul seeks to bolster drone use in air defense zone

South Korea is seeking to facilitate the use of drones and other military tools to better monitor and guard its air defense identification zone amid a rise of unreported entries of foreign airplanes. The Defense Ministry said Monday it has proposed an amendment to the military aircraft operation act to shore up “defects” in its ADIZ management and lay the legal foundation for the use of drones. In 2013, the country announced its new ADIZ that stretches further south to include its submerged rock

June 8, 2015

Defense Ministry begins checking visitors for fever

The Defense Ministry began examining visitors for any signs of fever Monday as concerns spike over the Middle East respiratory syndrome outbreak in Korea. All commuters were required to measure their temperature on their forehead before entering the ministry building either on foot or by vehicle. As of 11:00 a.m., no one has been found to be a possible MERS patient, a ministry official said. According to officials, the ministry was the first state agency to carry out such a test. Other instituti

June 8, 2015

Ranking Navy officer arrested in corruption scandal

A senior South Korean Navy official was arrested Friday in a widening probe into alleged corruption in connection with the country's arms procurement projects.A military court issued an arrest warrant for the officer with the rank of rear admiral, only identified by his family name Park.He is charged with pressing his subordinates in 2012 to doctor a report on the operational capability of the AgustaWestland AW159 Wildcat, a multi-mission maritime helicopter.It participated in South Korea's nava

June 6, 2015

U.S. wants to deploy THAAD to S. Korea mainly to protect itself: Armitage

The main purpose of U.S. efforts to deploy a THAAD missile defense unit to South Korea is to protect the U.S. mainland from North Korean missile threats, a former top American diplomat said Wednesday.Former Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage made the remark during a security seminar on Korea, claiming that hosting a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense battery is a responsibility South Korea has as an ally of the United States."I think the United States has approached this incorrectly ...

June 4, 2015

S. Korea successfully test-fires longer-range ballistic missile

South Korea successfully test-fired a ballistic missile Wednesday capable of reaching nearly all parts of North Korea, the Defense Ministry said, in an apparent show of force against the communist archrival.The state-run Agency for Defense Development carried out the first test of the missile with a range of at least 500 kilometers that it has developed over the past three years.The test that took place at the ADD's firing range in Taean, South Chungcheong Province, was watched by President Park

June 3, 2015

Military launches task force against possible MERS spread into barracks

The Defense Ministry said Wednesday it has set up a task force to prevent the MERS virus from spreading to service personnel. It is part of a set of precautionary measures the military authorities came up with in the wake of the outbreak of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome.South Korea has so far confirmed 30 MERS cases since the outbreak of the disease here some two weeks ago."The ministry set up an emergency response team Saturday and will run four epidemiological survey teams at the headqu

June 3, 2015

S. Korea to develop indigenous missile for light-armed choppers

South Korea's arms procurement agency said Tuesday it has decided to develop a guided missile for light-armed helicopters using its own technology. The decision calls for developing indigenous air-to-ground missiles for the helicopters to replace the current anti-tank missiles of TOW (the Tube-launched, Optically tracked, Wire-guided Missile System), according to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration."The project is to be completed in 2022 for mass production and deployment the followin

June 2, 2015

S. Korea, U.S. devise principles against N.K. missiles

South Korea and the United States have laid out four principles of their operations to effectively counter missile threats by North Korea, U.S. Forces Korea said Tuesday.The principles "will guide decision-making, capability development and operations" of the allies "to counter the growing North Korean missile threat," the USFK said in its yearly magazine titled "Strategic Digest," published jointly by the United Nations Command and the Combined Forces Command.The North, which has conducted thre

June 2, 2015

Military stages joint maritime firing drill

The South Korean military said Tuesday it has carried out a firing drill in the East Sea to boost joint capabilities against North Korea's possible maritime provocations.The firing drill staged jointly on Monday in the East Sea by the 8th Army Corps, the 1st Fleet Command, and the 8th Fighter Wing was conducted based upon a scenario in which the three branches of the service detected and attacked an enemy's provocation at sea, the Army said in a statement.The drill involved K-9 self-propelled ho

June 2, 2015

Seoul, Tokyo to hold talks on N.K. info-sharing

South Korea and Japan will hold working-level talks this month on sharing military information on North Korea, the Defense Ministry said Tuesday.Tadashi Miyagawa, chief of the intelligence bureau at Japan’s Defense Ministry will visit Seoul on June 15 for three days to attend the regular bilateral conference, ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok said at a regular briefing.“The two sides will discuss the situation of Northeast Asia and ways to exchange relevant military information,” Kim said.Such mee

June 2, 2015

Seoul mulls SOFA revision after anthrax accident

South Korea is considering revising its military agreement with the U.S. to prevent another accidental shipment of live anthrax to the South, a ruling party lawmaker said Monday.Safety jitters over biological weapons flared up after the U.S. military said last month a U.S. Defense Department laboratory had mistakenly sent a live anthrax sample to the U.S. Forces Korea's Osan Air Base, south of Seoul.Public concerns did not subside despite the USFK announcement that the sample was destroyed befor

June 1, 2015

S. Korea, U.S. start joint anti-submarine naval drill

South Korea and the United States have staged a joint anti-submarine naval drill to tackle North Korea's threats, sparked by the North's test-firing of a submarine-launched ballistic missile, the Navy said Monday.The two allies kicked off the largest-ever combined anti-submarine exercise Saturday that will run through Wednesday in waters off South Korea's southern resort island of Jeju."The drill is aimed at deterring submarine-related provocations and beefing up the Navy's capacity to protect a

June 1, 2015

Seoul, Tokyo to discuss expanding Japan’s military role

Seoul and Tokyo are expected to undertake discussions as early as next month over the details of Japan’s possible exercise of its right to self-defense on the Korean Peninsula following their first defense ministerial talks in more than four years. Foreign Minister Han Min-koo and his Japanese counterpart Gen Nakatani met on the margins of the Asia Security Summit in Singapore on Saturday and agreed on the principle that the Self-Defense Forces can enter the peninsula only upon Seoul’s request o

May 31, 2015

S. Korea, Japan to discuss 'collective self-defense' issue

South Korea and Japan will begin working-level consultations as early as next month on Tokyo's use of its right to "collective self-defense," officials said Sunday.The move follows a deal between Defense Minister Han Min-koo and his Japanese counterpart, Gen Nakatani, in Singapore on Saturday. In the meeting held Saturday on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue, the ministers agreed on the basic principle that Tokyo needs Seoul's consent in exercising the right on matters related with the Ko

May 31, 2015

U.S. calls for joint int'l efforts to stop N.K. nukes

U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter on Saturday stressed the need to maintain the current multilateral and diplomatic approach to persuade North Korea to give up its nuclear ambitions."North Korea remains a troubling and provocative exception to the general rule in this (Asia-Pacific) region of countries that pursue systems of peace and stability," Carter said in his speech delivered at the Asia Security Summit, better known as the Shangri-La Dialogue, in Singapore.Five members of the six-party

May 30, 2015

Seoul, Washington kick off joint committee over anthrax mishap

South Korea and the United States have kicked off a joint committee to look into the incident involving a live anthrax sample that was mistakenly sent to an American military base in South Korea from the U.S., a diplomatic source said Friday.   U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) said Thursday that 22 personnel may have come in contact with a live anthrax sample that was accidentally sent to Osan Air Base in South Korea, but none have shown signs of infection. A U.S. military laboratory in Utah inadvertent

May 29, 2015

Civic groups demand U.S. apology for anthrax delivery

A group of some 50 civic groups on Friday called on the U.S. to thoroughly investigate its military’s recent accidental shipment of live anthrax bacteria to a U.S. Forces Korea lab and to apologize and take measures to prevent a recurrence.The group including the Green Korea and Catholic Human Rights Committee held an outdoor press conference near the U.S. Embassy in downtown Seoul, stressing the need to “verify the truth” behind the accident.“Koreans did not know that anthrax bacteria, which co

May 29, 2015