S. Korean civic groups demand drastic cuts in USFA related spending

Progressive South Korean civic groups held a rally near the U.S. embassy in Seoul Saturday calling for drastic cuts in spending to maintain American troops in Korea and a halt to efforts to ink a Seoul-Tokyo military agreement.Members of the anti-war people's movement for peace coalition made up of various groups said cutting expenditure to keep troops in the country can improve peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.They said that while Seoul should take the lead in reducing military tensi

Nov. 23, 2013

P.M. stress zero tolerance against elements that threaten national defense

Prime Minister Chung Hong-won stressed that the most important goal for the country at the moment is to maintain a strong defensive posture and that no allowances must be given to elements that try to weaken this resolve.Speaking at a ceremony marking the third anniversary of the shelling of Yeonpyeong Island at the War Memorial of Korea in Seoul, the premier said that the building of a prosperous country is based on air-tight defense. He added that maintaining vigilance is the only way to repay

Nov. 23, 2013

S. Korea successfully fires off Spike missile

South Korea successfully fired off an Israeli precision-guided missile capable of striking North Korean coastal artillery on its Yellow Sea border islands last month, the Marine Corps said Friday, the first test-firing since their deployment on northwestern islands in May.The satellite-guided Spike missiles, which have a range of about 20 kilometers and weigh 70 kilograms, have been forward deployed in Yeonpyeong and Baengnyeong Islands to deter provocations by North Korea. They are designed to

Nov. 22, 2013

Japan not to exercise defense rights on peninisula without Korea's consent

Japan has made clear its intention to not exercise its right to so-called collective self-defense on the Korea Peninsula without consent from Seoul, the foreign ministry here said Thursday."A ranking security official from the Japanese government has informed us of (Japan's) position that Japanese military forces cannot be deployed to the Korean Peninsula by invoking the collective self-defense rule," South Korea's foreign ministry spokesman Cho Tai-young said in a briefing. Japan's position is

Nov. 21, 2013

Seoul likely to pick Lockheed Martin’s F-35

The South Korean military on Friday will determine the required operational capabilities for its restarted next-generation fighter procurement project, a move expected to make Lockheed Martin’s F-35 jet the most likely candidate.During a meeting of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Council, top military officers will also decide on the number of warplanes to be purchased and the period of their operational deployment, military officials said.The Air Force is said to have requested that a fighter with su

Nov. 21, 2013

U.S., Australia to promote practical defense ties with S. Korea

The United States and Australia agreed Wednesday to enhance substantial military cooperation with South Korea in handling regional and global security problems."The two countries committed to intensifying their collaboration with the Republic of Korea (ROK) in the promotion of stability on the Korean Peninsula," the allies said in a joint communique to sum up the results of the Australia-U.S. Ministerial Consultations.In the annual meeting held in the 63rd year of the Washington-Canberra allianc

Nov. 21, 2013

S. Korea steps up defense on northwestern islands

South Korea has beefed up its forces on a group of northwestern islands along the tensely guarded maritime border with North Korea to counter provocations from its archrival, military officials said Wednesday.Following the North's shelling of a front-line island in 2010, Seoul has increased forces and firepower near the area to enhance strike capabilities, but some of the weapons systems were not deployed last year as planned.With the third anniversary of the Yeonpyeong attack three days away, m

Nov. 20, 2013

Ex-USFK chief says S. Korea needs mixture of F-35s, F-15s

South Korea should not cross off F-15 fighter jets from its shopping list aimed at boosting combat capability, a former top U.S. military commander in Korea said Tuesday."In a real sense, a mix of F-35s and F-15s is the right decision," retired Gen. John Tilelli told reporters.His comments came amid media reports that South Korea will likely announce plans to buy 40 F-35s in the coming weeks.Tilelli, who headed U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) from 1996 to 1999, emphasized that carrying weight is as imp

Nov. 20, 2013

South Korea to hire 11 civilians for UAE base

The Defense Ministry plans to pick 11 civilians to work as members of its military contingent in the United Arab Emirates. The plan is part of efforts to create employment opportunities for retirees and other job seekers.It is also pushing a law that governs procedures to deploy troops and extend their dispatch, so as to quicken the domestic approval process for overseas activities including disaster relief and bilateral and multilateral defense cooperation.Ministry officials said the civilians

Nov. 19, 2013

PM calls for higher defense budget

  Prime Minister Chung Hong-won said Tuesday he believes South Korea should increase its defense budget to 3 percent of gross domestic product, citing the country's "security realities."   Chung made the remark during a parliamentary interpellation session after Rep. Kim Eul-dong of the ruling Saenuri Party accused the government of lacking commitment to national security as it did not set aside enough budget for national defense.   "Security realities make it necessary to increase the defense b

Nov. 19, 2013

Seoul cautions Tokyo over collective self-defense move

Vice Defense Minister Baek Seung-joo told his Japanese counterpart Wednesday that Tokyo’s exercise of the right to collective self-defense should not have negative impacts on regional stability and peninsular security.Baek held bilateral talks with Japanese Vice Defense Minister Masanori Nishi on the sidelines of the Seoul Defense Dialogue, an international security forum hosted by Seoul’s Defense Ministry.The vice-minister talks between the two neighbors, the first in two years, came amid incre

Nov. 13, 2013

S. Korea can expect lower prices of F-35 fighter jets: expert

Seeking a new budget and vender for its next-generation fighter jet procurement program, South Korea may be offered lower prices of F-35s than Lockheed Martin originally proposed, a U.S. defense industry expert said Thursday.South Korea has delayed the selection of a winning bidder as it weighs the pros and cons of the F-35, Boeing's F-15SE and the Eurofighter Typhoon.Lockheed and Eurofighter were priced out of the contest, moving Boeing closer to clinching the US$7.4-billion deal.South Korea, f

Nov. 8, 2013

Seoul to host international security forum next week

The Defense Ministry will hold an annual forum next week to discuss ways to boost mutual trust and cooperation among Asia-Pacific militaries, organizers said Thursday.The three-day Seoul Defense Dialogue 2013 will kick off in Seoul on Monday with nuclear proliferation, cyber security and regional comprehensive security cooperation architecture as the main agenda.The SDD will bring together some 180 participants from 21 countries, the U.N., EU and North Atlantic Treaty Organization, including ren

Nov. 7, 2013