Korea, U.S. set for largest-ever Marine drills

WASHINGTON ― More than 10,000 Marines from South Korea and the United States will kick off their largest-ever joint amphibious landing training late this month, the Pentagon said Monday.This year’s Ssang Yong (double dragon) exercise will be held from March 27 to April 7 on the Korean Peninsula, involving about 7,500 U.S. Marines, 2,000 U.S. Navy personnel as well as 3,500 South Korean Marines and 1,000 South Korea Navy sailors, according to Lt. Col. Jeff Pool, a Department of Defense spokesman.

March 11, 2014

U.S., Japan discuss 'gray areas' in defense guidelines

This week, the United States and Japan will discuss ways to deal with a broad range of regional security threats, including territorial tensions with China and the North Korea issue, as the allies study how to revise bilateral defense cooperation guidelines, officials said Monday.The two sides opened an inaugural working group meeting in Hawaii to follow up on a landmark deal between their foreign affairs and defense chiefs in October. In the so-called two-plus-two session, Washington and Tokyo

March 11, 2014

S. Korea, U.S. set for largest-ever joint Marine exercise involving V-22 Osprey

More than 10,000 Marines from South Korea and the United States will kick off their largest-ever joint amphibious landing training late this month, the Pentagon said Monday.This year's Ssang Yong (double dragon) exercise will be held from March 27 to April 7 on the Korean Peninsula, involving about 7,500 U.S. Marines, 2,000 U.S. Navy personnel as well as 3,500 South Korean Marines and 1,000 South Korea Navy sailors, according to Lt. Col. Jeff Pool, a Department of Defense spokesman.The U.S. Mari

March 11, 2014

Military hospital under fire for failing to spot tumor

An enlisted soldier with cancer was found to have been left untreated for some seven months after a military doctor mistakenly judged him to be healthy when X-ray images revealed a tumor developing near his lungs, according to Army officials.The sergeant, whose name was withheld, was diagnosed with stage-four mediastinal tumors on Feb. 27 after he was sent to a hospital three days earlier for coughing and difficulty breathing.The Armed Force Medical Command said that the military doctor in quest

March 10, 2014

Army to lift ban on drinking, smoking and marriage

The Korea Military Academy plans to lift a decades-old ban on drinking, smoking and marrying to reflect social change, the Army said Sunday.    The elite military academy has prohibited cadets from drinking, smoking or marrying while attending school to teach discipline since its establishment in 1952.   The comprehensive ban, however, has faced growing challenges after several cases of sexual misconduct took place involving cadets last year, with one male cadet raping a female colleague on camp

March 9, 2014

Adm. Locklear says U.S. to keep military pre-eminence in Asia

The top commander of U.S. forces in the Asia-Pacific region said Thursday his troops will stay ahead of any military threats in the region under the Pentagon's new defense guidelines.Navy Adm. Samuel Locklear admitted that the security conditions there are "getting more complex" and the U.S. military is going through budget cuts.But the Quadrennial Defense Review, released Tuesday, "once again places at the very top the rebalance to Asia as a priority," he said at a forum hosted by the Atlantic

March 7, 2014

U.S. nuclear submarine arrives in S. Korea for joint drill

A nuclear-powered U.S. submarine arrived in a southeastern South Korean port on Monday to participate in an annual joint military drill, a senior military official said, amid a series of provocations by North Korea.The USS Columbus, a Los Angeles-class submarine, arrived in Busan, some 450 kilometers south of Seoul, along with the U.S. 7th Fleet command ship, the USS Blue Ridge, to participate in the Foal Eagle exercise.The combat field training began last week and will last until April 18. Foal

March 3, 2014

Navy receives new guided-missile destroyer

The South Korean Navy took delivery of a guided-missile destroyer Friday that will be in charge of defending the country’s shoreline and harbor waters, the procurement agency here said. The Kim Chang-hak ship, the newest PKG-class (Patrol Killer, Guided Missile) patrol boat built by shipbuilding giant Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., was delivered to the Navy command earlier in the day, according to the state-run Defense Acquisition Program Administration.Enabled to accommodate 40 crew members, the

Feb. 28, 2014

S. Korean workers face unpaid leave on delayed passage of defense cost deal

South Koreans hired by U.S. troops here will be forced to take unpaid leave if a renewed defense-cost sharing pact fails to win early approval from Seoul‘s parliament, the foreign ministry said Thursday.After months of tough negotiations, Seoul and Washington renewed in January their Special Measure Agreement on jointly burdening the costs of stationing United States Forces Korea in South Korea. Under the new contract covering the five-year period from 2014, South Korea is to pay 920 billion won

Feb. 27, 2014

Seoul ready to counter provocations by Pyongyang: defense chief

(Yonhap) -- Despite signs of warming inter-Korean ties, South Korea's defense minister on Wednesday pledged firm military readiness to counter any provocations by North Korea that he considers "unpredictable."Kim Kwan-jin made the remark during a meeting of retired generals at a time when relations between the two Koreas have shown signs of improvement in light of the recent reunions of families separated since the 1950-53 Korean War.Hundreds of separated families met in a tearful reunion at Nor

Feb. 26, 2014

N. Korean patrol ship violates western sea border amid family reunions

A North Korean patrol ship violated the tensely guarded western maritime border several times Monday night, but it retreated after repeated South Korean military warnings, Seoul's defense ministry said Tuesday.The North Korean vessel crossed the Northern Limit Line, a de facto maritime border, at around 10:46 p.m. Monday, and sailed to a location about 23.4 kilometers west of South Korea's Yeonpyeong Island in the Yellow Sea.The ship returned to its territory at around 2:25 a.m. Tuesday after th

Feb. 25, 2014

Pentagon to shrink ground force to around 444,000

The Pentagon announced plans Monday to reduce the number of ground troops to the lowest level since before World War II as part of efforts to cut budgets.It is still unclear whether or how it will affect the operation of the 28,500-strong U.S. Forces Korea, officials said.Under the proposal unveiled by Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, the Army will be downsized to between 440,000 and 450,000 soldiers by 2017. The current force is 520,000.  "We are repositioning to focus on the strategic challen

Feb. 25, 2014

Korea, U.S. to conduct 'low-key' military drills

South Korea and the United States will carry out their annual joint military drills in a "low-key" manner from this week, the military said Sunday, amid the ongoing reunions of families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War.The allies will hold the computer-based command post exercise, called Key Resolve, from Monday to March 6, involving about 10,000 South Korean and 5,200 American forces, with 1,100 coming from overseas U.S. bases. The two allies also plan to hold a combined field training drill

Feb. 23, 2014

Army opens front-line combat roles to women

Female soldiers will be able to apply to all combat roles in the Army starting this year, as part of the military’s efforts to integrate more women into closed units, the defense ministry said Thursday. The Army will allow all female soldiers and noncommissioned officers to apply for artillery and armored units and air defense forces in a bid to lower the gender barrier. The Army Military Academy will also open the door for 20 female cadets next year for the first time since its establishment in

Feb. 20, 2014