The Korea Herald

Minister, military leaders pay respect to Cheonan sailors

Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin and top military leaders paid their respects to the 46 deceased sailors of the ill-fated corvette Cheonan on Monday, a day before the third anniversary of its sinking by a North Korean torpedo attack.To mark the third anniversary, the government is holding a memorial ceremony at Daejeon National Cemetery on Tuesday morning. President Park Geun-hye and some 5,000 people including the bereaved families are to attend.At the ceremony, Park is expected to reiterate that

March 25, 2013

Korea, U.S. set up plan to counter N.K. provocation

Seoul and Washington signed a contingency plan to “immediately and decisively” counter North Korean provocations, the allies’ militaries announced Sunday.Under the plan the South would lead counter-provocation operations with the U.S. providing support, they said. It was signed by Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Jung Seung-jo and Combined Forces Command chief James D. Thurman Friday and took effect immediately.“It was developed by mutual agreement between the ROK (Republic of Korea) and U

March 24, 2013

Korea, U.S. set up plan to counter N.K. provocation

[Newsmaker] Defense chief faces another tough term

Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin faces another tough term with tasks ranging from deterring North Korea to preparing for major shifts in military structure and command system, and to boosting the morale of the armed forces. Cheong Wa Dae announced Friday that Kim would retain his post as controversy-laden Kim Byung-kwan withdrew his nomination for defense minister amid a series of allegations of misdeeds. Kim, 64, is the first defense chief to stay in office after a change of government. “While mai

March 24, 2013

[Newsmaker] Defense chief faces another tough term

Presidential cyber security secretary mulled

The government is considering instituting a cyber security secretary in the presidential office of national security following Wednesday’s hacking attacks on broadcasters and banks, ruling party officials said Sunday.After the attacks, calls surged for the government to create a control tower dedicated to handling the new threat, which North Korea appears increasingly keen to use to disrupt or damage South Korean society and economy. “As the country’s systems to counter cyber terror are scattere

March 24, 2013

U.S. commander says joint war games ended in 'success'

A top U.S. commander said Thursday the recently concluded joint U.S.-South Korea military exercises were a good first step for Seoul to rehearse a scenario in which it is set to play a leading role in defending itself.Amid heightened North Korean war rhetoric, South Korea and the U.S. ended a 10-day military exercise, code-named Key Resolve.About 10,000 South Korean and 3,000 U.S. troops took part in the largely computer simulated war games.The annual exercises were the first of their kind in wh

March 21, 2013

Seoul faces growing cyber warfare challenges

Seoul faces daunting challenges of countering growing cyber threats that gained fresh attention after Wednesday’s hacking attacks on broadcasters and banks. The government, military and private sector have been beefing up their chiefly passive defense to safeguard the country’s heavily intertwined computer networks from outside intrusions.While probes are under way to determine the latest attackers, officials and experts pinpointed North Korea as the likely suspect in light of past cases and pat

March 21, 2013

Seoul faces growing cyber warfare challenges

B-52 bombers in Korea show U.S. defense commitment: Pentagon

B-52s participating in the ongoing South Korea-U.S. joint military drills are meant to demonstrate a strong alliance capability in the face of North Korean threats, the Pentagon said Monday."This mission highlights the extended deterrence and conventional capabilities of the B-52 Stratofortress while participating in exercises such as Foal Eagle," Pentagon spokesman George Little told reporters.Foal Eagle, an annual joint exercise, began on March 1 for a two-month run. South Korea and the U.S. a

March 19, 2013

‘Allies ready to deter N. Korean provocations’

Halfway through the around-the-clock Key Resolve drills Friday, 8th U.S. Army Commander Lt. Gen. John D. Johnson remained full of energy as he underscored that the allied forces were ready to cope with North Korean threats.At the exercise headquarters at the Warrior Base, just south of the Demilitarized Zone, Korean and American troops were seamlessly integrated in the annual computer-simulated drills, which Seoul led for the first time in preparation for the transfer of wartime operational cont

March 17, 2013

‘Allies ready to deter N. Korean provocations’

‘Sequester won’t affect USFK readiness’

[Herald Interview] 　WARRIOR BASE, Gyeonggi Province -- The U.S. government’s automatic spending cuts that took effect on March 1 have no impact on the Korea-U.S. alliance’s capability to deter North Korean aggression, a top U.S. commander here told The Korea Herald.　“There is no impact on the resources that I have to maintain my combat readiness,” said 8th U.S. Army (EUSA) Commander Lieut. Gen. John D. Johnson in an interview Friday on the sidelines of the allies’ annual Key Resolve command post

March 17, 2013

New battle simulation center goes into operation for annual drills

A new battle simulation center went into operation to test the combat readiness of South Korean and U.S. forces during their annual drills now in full swing, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said Friday. The JCS unveiled the Joint Warfighting Simulation Center located in Suwon, south of Seoul, as the computer simulated exercise called Key Resolve began on Monday to run through March 21. The construction of the simulation center, which is now equipped with a communications and networking system, will be

March 15, 2013

New battle simulation center goes into operation for annual drills

N. Korea unlikely to attack South with nukes

With North Korea repeatedly warning of “nuclear retaliatory strikes,” questions have been raised over whether Pyongyang’s threats are credible or simply for deterrence and to up the political ante.Experts largely agreed that although its nuclear arms posed a formidable threat, the communist state was unlikely to consider a preemptive nuclear attack inviting an overwhelming retaliation that would doom the dictatorial regime.But some noted that fledgling leader Kim Jong-un, struggling to project a

March 12, 2013

Fines to punish stalkers, flashers

The Cabinet approved a bill on Monday that regulates certain inappropriate social behaviors such as stalking and public indecency by fining offenders, officials said.During the meeting presided over by President Park Geun-hye, the Cabinet endorsed an enforcement ordinance that adds 28 acts to the list of misdemeanors punishable in the country. A relevant revised law was passed last year.Under the revision, those caught stalking for the first time will face a fine of 80,000 won ($72.70). Intrudin

March 11, 2013

Cheong Wa Dae looking into military officials playing golf

The presidential office is looking into reports that dozens of military officials played golf over the weekend despite heightened tensions with North Korea, presidential spokesman Yoon Chang-jung said Monday.“Cheong Wa Dae is paying particular attention to the issue of discipline slackening in public service,” Yoon said. “The office of the senior civil affairs secretary has immediately launched an inquiry to determine what has exactly happened regarding the reports about military golf.”Local new

March 11, 2013

N.K. cuts off military hotline with South

South Korea and the U.S. kick off their annual 10-day Key Resolve drills on Monday -- the day Pyongyang said it would scrap the armistice agreement and inter-Korean nonaggression pacts.The allied militaries have remained on high alert as Pyongyang could launch provocations near sea and land borders during their regular drills including the one-month Foal Eagle exercise to run until April 30. On Sunday, the North, which denounced the drills as a “rehearsal for a nuclear war of incursion,” warned

March 11, 2013

N.K. cuts off military hotline with South

Key Resolve drills get under way

South Korea and the U.S. launched their annual Key Resolve drills on Monday as North Korea cut out a telephone hotline at the inter-Korean border village in its latest provocative act.Pyongyang had earlier threatened to scrap the armistice agreement and inter-Korean agreements on nonaggression and denuclearization denouncing the 10-day allied exercise as a “rehearsal for a nuclear war of incursion.” For the first time, Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff led the command post exercise in preparation f

March 11, 2013

S. Korea, U.S. begin drills amid threat

South Korea and the U.S. kick off their annual 10-day Key Resolve drills on Monday ― the day Pyongyang said it would scrap the armistice agreement and inter-Korean nonaggression pacts.The allied militaries have remained on high alert for North Korean provocations near sea and land borders during their regular drills including the one-month Foal Eagle exercise to run until April 30. On Sunday, the North, which denounced the drills as a “rehearsal for a nuclear war of incursion,” warned its troops

March 10, 2013

Defense minister nominee threatens psywar against N. Korea

North Korea will face psychological warfare by South Korea if the communist country continues with provocations, President Park Geun-hye's defense minister nominee said Thursday.In written answers presented to the National Assembly ahead of his confirmation hearing, Kim Byung-kwan said the South Korean military will "sternly punish the North by employing all means available," including psychological warfare.Kim will undergo a parliamentary confirmation hearing for Park's defense minister on Frid

March 7, 2013

Hyundai Heavy Industries to build new submarines

Hyundai Heavy Industries, the world's largest shipbuilder, was selected to build nine improved versions of Chang Bogo class submarines for the South Korean Navy, the state arms procurement agency said Thursday.The Defense Acquisition and Procurement Agency (DAPA) said it has chosen Hyundai Heavy Industries to build an upgraded version of the 1,200-ton Chang Bogo submarine, in partnership with Germany's ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems.The new version of the diesel-electric attack submarine will weigh

March 7, 2013

Anti-submarine torpedoes fail in additional test-firing

The South Korean Navy has additionally test-fired indigenous anti-submarine torpedoes, but found they weren’t suited for combat assignments after a success rate of only about 60 percent, a military source said Wednesday.After the torpedo failed to hit its target in the initial test in July of last year, the Navy fired off eight more in a period of five months since last October. Five of them successfully passed the test, while three went missing.The state-funded Agency for Defense Development cr

March 6, 2013

S. Korean military warns of strong retaliation for North's provocation

South Korea's military said Wednesday that it will sternly punish North Korea and its leadership if the North moves forward with provocations, responding to the communist country's warning of attacks over an annual drill by Seoul and Washington set to start next week. The warning came one day after the North's military threatened to scrap the 1953 armistice that ended the Korean War, citing tensions over South Korean-U.S. joint military exercises and warned a "precise" strike at any time. A t

March 6, 2013