The Korea Herald

USFK chief blasts N.K. missile launches

PANMUNJEOM ― U.S. Forces Korea Commander Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti on Sunday lambasted North Korea for recently launching a series of missiles and rockets in breach of the U.N. Security Council resolutions banning any ballistic missile tests.His remarks came the day after the communist state fired what appeared to be a short-range Scud ballistic missile into the East Sea from Jangsangot, South Hwanghae Province, 100 kilometers from the Military Demarcation Line.“Clearly, we are watching closely th

July 27, 2014

N. Korea bolsters cyberwarfare capabilities

This is the fourth installment in a series of articles delving into cybersecurity challenges facing South Korea and the world, and global efforts to tide them over. ― Ed.With outmoded fighter jets, warships and tanks and underfed soldiers, North Korea could hardly be seen as a military power. But through its dogged pursuit of nuclear arms and long-range missiles it has built itself into a force to be reckoned with.Beyond the traditional military domain, the communist state has also sought to bec

July 27, 2014

N. Korea bolsters cyberwarfare capabilities

Gov't to revise mental evaluation of potential draftees

The state military manpower agency said Sunday it will strengthen psychological evaluations for potential draftees as part of efforts to weed out those who are unfit for service and better manage its recruits.All South Korean men are required to go through a physical checkup and psychological evaluation when they turn 19 to determine whether they are eligible for mandatory military service and what duties they should be assigned to.The move by the Military Manpower Administration (MMA) came in t

July 27, 2014

U.S. dismisses Russian concern about THAAD system in S. Korea

The United States said Thursday an advanced missile defense battery it plans to deploy to South Korea is not aimed at Russia, after Moscow expressed concern that the system would negatively affect the regional situation and provoke an arms race.The U.S. military plans to bring a Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile defense battery into South Korea to help deter threats from North Korea. The U.S. has conducted a site survey for the system, though no decision has been announced as t

July 25, 2014

U.S. to spend $5.8b on missile defense for five years

WASHINGTON (Yonhap) ― The United States plans to spend about $5.8 billion over the next five years on a missile defense program designed to intercept incoming warheads from countries like North Korea, according to the Congressional Budget Office.In a report made public Tuesday, the budget office provided the historical and future budgets for the Missile Defense Agency’s Ground-Based Midcourse Defense program, a missile defense system aimed at fending off ballistic missile threats from North Kore

July 23, 2014

N.K. warns of retaliation against S. Korea, U.S.

North Korea warned of retaliatory military actions against South Korea and the U.S. on Sunday, denouncing the allies’ criticism of its recent missile launches and artillery drills.The North’s powerful National Defense Commission argued that the launches were not provocations as the allies have contended, but the legitimate exercise of its sovereignty to strengthen its self-defense capabilities.“The U.S. and South Korea should not dare to talk of the (North’s) provocations or threats anymore and

July 21, 2014

Army chief urges reform after shooting spree

The Army chief called Monday for thorough reform efforts in the wake of last month’s deadly shooting spree at a border outpost, vowing to make his organization stronger and more efficient, the Army headquarters said. Gen. Kwon Oh-sung made the remark during the Army’s biannual commander meeting held at the Army compound in Gyeryong, some 176 kilometers south of Seoul.Last month, a 22-year-old Army sergeant fired on his comrades at his general outpost in the inter-Korean border town of Goseong, 2

July 21, 2014

‘N.K. cyberaggression has no parallel’

The level of North Korea’s cyberaggression towards South Korea has no parallel, a U.S. security expert said, underscoring the need for the South to dedicate sufficient resources to enhancing its cybersecurity.Martin Libicki, senior management scientist at the U.S. think tank RAND Corporation, also rated Pyongyang’s cyberwarfare capabilities as being at Iran’s level, noting that its skills “might be clever, but not sophisticated.”“I think (North Korea’s cyberaggression) even exceeds mutual Israel

July 20, 2014

‘Self-understanding key to curbing cyberthreats’

This is the third installment in a series of articles delving into cybersecurity challenges facing South Korea and the world, and global efforts to tide them over. ― Ed. One of the most fundamental yet critical tasks facing a country struggling to bolster its cybersecurity is to understand its own information systems and those of its adversaries, said Martin Libicki, a senior researcher at the U.S. think tank RAND Corporation.During a recent email interview with The Korea Herald, the scholar als

July 20, 2014

‘Self-understanding key to curbing cyberthreats’

Hagel holds first conversation with S. Korea's new defense chief

South Korea's new Defense Minister Han Min-koo and U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel held their first conversation by phone on Saturday and discussed the alliance between the two countries, the Pentagon said.Hagel congratulated Han on his appointment, saying he looks forward to working with him to continue strengthening the alliance, the Pentagon said in a press release. Hagel initiated the call, according to the defense department.Han, a former chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff, took off

July 20, 2014

Korea, China expected to set up military hotline this year: source

South Korea and China have reached a consensus on establishing a military hotline between their defense chiefs this year to further boost cooperation, a Seoul government source said Sunday.After agreeing on "the necessity for the hotline, the two countries began discussing the issue in earnest from the end of last year and have reached a consensus to set it up within this year," the source said. He declined to be named."The two are likely to reach a final decision during their fourth round of th

July 20, 2014

Air Force refutes allegations that air traffic control played role in chopper crash

South Korea's Air Force on Saturday refuted allegations that air traffic control played any role in the crash of a fire department helicopter that left all five crew members dead.The Eurocopter-built AS365 Dauphin medium-weight helicopter crashed Thursday in a residential area of Gwangju, 329 kilometers south of Seoul. The chopper and its crew were returning to a base in Gangwon Province after taking part in search missions related to the April 16 sinking of the Sewol ferry off the country's sou

July 19, 2014

Abe: U.S. marines need Japan’s consent for Korea deployment

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has said that under a bilateral security arrangement, U.S. Forces Japan is required to secure Tokyo’s understanding should it want to send its marines to the Korean Peninsula in the event of contingencies here.His remarks at a parliamentary session on Tuesday triggered concerns in Korea that Tokyo’s political calculations could impede the rapid deployment of U.S. troops to the country if conflict occurs on the peninsula. “U.S. marines depart from Japan. As (tha

July 16, 2014

Defense chief urges drastic military reform

The defense minister called for a thorough reform of the military and tighter discipline among troops on Wednesday after its image was tarnished by a recent shooting rampage and other incidents.Public distrust in the military has deepened following last month‘s shooting spree at a front-line border outpost, the recent arrest of military officers for leaking classified secrets and the discovery earlier this year of drones that Seoul claims were sent by North Korea for spying.“We all should take a

July 16, 2014

Defense chief urges drastic military reform

Park orders swift retaliation against N.K. provocations

South Korean President Park Geun-hye ordered the country's military Wednesday to swiftly retaliate against any provocation from North Korea amid heightened tensions over the North's recent missile launches and firing of artillery.Park gave the order during a luncheon with about 140 key military commanders, including Defense Minister Han Min-koo, saying the communist nation has become increasingly unpredictable in recent weeks.She especially noted that the North has made a "conciliatory gesture"

July 16, 2014

‘Sergeant ostracized, mocked’

The sergeant who killed five soldiers in a shooting rampage last month had been taunted and ostracized while in high school and during his military service, the Army said Tuesday.Announcing the results of the three-week investigation into the June 21 shooting, the Army said that the 22-year-old sergeant, surnamed Lim, was driven to go on the shooting spree after being mocked by his senior and junior colleagues.A series of humiliating pictures that Lim’s fellows drew on the cover of the daily pat

July 15, 2014

Two uniformed officers indicted for leaking military secrets

The Defense Ministry said Tuesday that its prosecution had detained and indicted two uniformed officers on charges of leaking military secrets about Seoul’s defense procurement projects to a civilian broker that in turn gave them to three unspecified foreign defense firms.It also plans to indict one more officer and a civilian on the same charges.After being informed of the leak, the civilian prosecution launched a preliminary probe into the case in February 2013. Later, military prosecutors joi

July 15, 2014

Bullying behind soldier's deadly shooting spree: military police

An Army sergeant went on a deadly shooting rampage at a frontline border outpost last month after being ignored and bullied by his superiors and comrades, military police said Tuesday. Announcing the results of its one-month probe into the rampage by the 22-year-old sergeant, identified only by his surname Lim, that killed five people and wounded seven, the military police also said Lim is suspected of planning the alleged crime for about four hours and committed it on his own.On June 21, Lim d

July 15, 2014

[World Cup] Goetze fires Germany to victory

RIO DE JANEIRO ― With two minutes left in full time and the teams stuck in a scoreless deadlock, German coach Joachim Loew told substitute forward Mario Goetze to show the world that he could outperform rival Argentina’s star striker Lionel Messi to win the match.“‘I said to Mario Goetze, ‘Okay. Show to the world that you’re better than Messi, and that you can decide the World Cup. You have all the possibilities to do just that,’” Loew said.And on Sunday at Maracana Stadium, he did it in the dyi

July 14, 2014

[World Cup] Goetze fires Germany to victory

North Korea fires 100 artillery shells into East Sea

North Korea fired some 100 artillery shells north of the eastern Northern Limit Line, a de facto inter-Korean sea border, just a day after it fired two short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea, said Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff.For the abrupt artillery barrage, the North used its multiple rocket launchers and coastal artillery pieces around Goseong, Gangwon Province, some hundreds of meters away from the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas.“The North fired 100 artillery shells

July 14, 2014

North Korea fires 100 artillery shells into East Sea