South Korea went ahead Monday with an annual event marking a landmark military operation carried out in this port city during the 1950-53 Korean War, despite North Korea’s denouncement of the ceremony.A day earlier, North Korea’s Peaceful Reunification of Korea, a government body handling affairs with Seoul, denounced the annual event marking the Incheon landing operation as an “unpardonable challenge” to the peace-promoting philosophy of the Incheon Asian Games as well as an “unbearable provoca

Sept. 15, 2014

Some of the land that South Korea has offered to the U.S. military has been left unused or poorly managed, according to government data.The Seoul government has offered land for 68 U.S. military facilities and training fields ― a total of about 99 million square meters ― under the Status of Forces Agreement governing the legal status of 28,500 U.S. military personnel stationed here. The entire plot is about 34 times larger than Yeouido Island in Seoul. The U.S. has been offered the right to use

Sept. 10, 2014

The Ministry of National Defense is seeking to revise the national mobilization system to allow the military to use reservists and civilian vehicles during peacetime crises as it strives to ensure a rapid response to future North Korean provocations.The move, albeit with an intent to strengthen national defense against an unexpected attack, has triggered concerns that it could restrict citizens’ basic rights including their property rights.“(The ministry) will seek legal revisions to rapidly mob

Sept. 10, 2014

A parcel containing a knife, suspicious powder and a threatening letter has been sent to South Korea's defense chief, prompting authorities to launch a probe, the ministry said Friday.The package addressed to Defense Minister Han Min-koo contained a 32.8-centimeter kitchen knife and some 20 grams of white powder with a two-page letter, according to the ministry, noting that the suspicious powder was later found to be flour.The letter sent by the "International Peace Action Corps" reads, "Why are

Sept. 5, 2014

South Korea and the United States have agreed to establish a combined division of their troops next year that will be tasked with carrying out wartime operations, Seoul's defense ministry said Thursday.The unit, slated to be organized in the first half of next year, will be comprised of the U.S. 2nd Infantry Division and a South Korean brigade-level unit, according to the ministry.The 2nd Division commander plans to head the newly-made joint staff of the combined unit, with South Korea's brigadi

Sept. 4, 2014

Two noncommissioned officers in the special forces have died of apparent suffocation and another has been injured after harsh training, the Army headquarters said Wednesday.The staff sergeants, identified only by their family names, Lee and Cho, collapsed late Tuesday during a training exercise meant to help them survive captivity situations, which took place in their Special Warfare Command unit in the country‘s central town of Jeungpyeong, some 126 kilometers south of Seoul. Isolated in a smal

Sept. 3, 2014

Two noncommissioned officers in the special forces have died of apparent suffocation and another has been injured during harsh training, military officers said Wednesday.The accident took place late Tuesday in a unit of the Special Warfare Command in the central town of Jeungpyeong, some 126 kilometers south of Seoul, when the staff sergeants, identified only by their family names, Lee and Cho, collapsed during a training exercise meant to help them survive captivity situations, according to the

Sept. 3, 2014

First Army Commander Gen. Shin Hyeon-don resigned Tuesday amid controversy over his “disorderly” behavior damaging to the military’s image in June, the Ministry of National Defense said.The ministry said that on June 19, when the military was on heightened alert due to President Park Geun-hye’s overseas trip, Shin left Gangwon Province under his charge in breach of the military rules, and traveled to Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, for a security lecture at his alma mater, Cheongju High Sc

Sept. 2, 2014

The South Korean military has excavated this year the remains of 753 fallen soldiers who fought in the 1950-53 Korean War, the defense ministry said Monday.In a four-month project that began in April to find remains of missing service personnel, some 46,000 soldiers dug out sites in 56 regions across the country to recover the bodies, according to the ministry.The excavation team will analyze the registry of missing soldiers and conduct DNA tests to trace their families after retrieving their re

Sept. 1, 2014

The Defense Ministry said Sunday that it would allow draftees to receive visits by their girlfriends or families on weekdays from this month and use their unit cellphones on a trial basis, as it strives to improve what critics call the closed, rigid military culture.“We declare September as the month for the beginning of an open, trustworthy military culture. From Sept. 1, we will implement a series of measures put forward by the special panel tasked with improving the military culture,” said th

Aug. 31, 2014

South Korea and the United States wrapped up their joint military exercise Thursday, a day earlier than scheduled, officials here said, spawning speculation that the move might be intended to help soothe North Korea.The allies' Combined Forces Command in Seoul announced that it successfully completed its annual computer-assisted simulation drill, named Ulchi Freedom Guardian."This year's Ulchi Freedom Guardian exercise further strengthened our combined defense and enhanced the readiness of the R

Aug. 28, 2014

North Korea is developing a submarine capable of launching ballistic missiles, a U.S.-based web magazine claimed Tuesday, escalating concerns here over missile and nuclear threats from the communist state.Citing two U.S. defense officials, Washington Free Beacon said in an article that a missile launch tube on a submarine was recently observed by U.S. intelligence agencies ― an indication that the North was building a ballistic missile submarine.Expressing doubts over the report, a senior South

Aug. 27, 2014

State auditors have found that the state defense acquisition agency failed to receive large amounts of royalties due on a local firm’s exports of the domestically built T-50 trainer jets overseas.According to the Board of Audit and Inspection, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration has yet to receive royalties ― estimated to be worth up to 6 billion won ($5.91 million) ― for the 16 T-50s that Korea Aerospace Industries, the country’s sole aircraft maker, exported to Indonesia.DAPA receiv

Aug. 27, 2014