Military to create new senior NCO rank

The Defense Ministry seeks to establish a new senior-level rank in the non-commissioned officer system to secure more experienced, skillful personnel and boost their morale, officials said Sunday.It reported the plan to the presidential transition committee, they said. The plan could be put into action as early as later this year, officials predicted. “As the ministry plans to bolster the NCO number, the new rank will help ensure a clearer differentiation of troops in terms of their level of mil

Jan. 27, 2013

USFK curfew to go on indefinitely: commander

U.S. troops in South Korea will continue to be restricted to their bases from 1 to 5 a.m. for "mission readiness," according to their top commander."This curfew is imposed due to operation and mission-readiness requirements," Gen. James Thurman, chief of the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK), said in a recent memorandum carried by the Stars and Stripes, a U.S. military newspaper. "I expect USFK will maintain an appropriate state of awareness and mission preparedness for a significant period."Former USFK

Jan. 18, 2013

Park to meet with U.S. delegation

President-elect Park Geun-hye will meet with a group of special envoys sent by U.S.President Barack Obama later this week, her spokeswoman said Monday."President-elect Park will meet with a U.S. delegation led by Kurt Campbell, the assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, on Jan. 16," said Park's spokeswoman Cho Yoon-sun.Campbell will come with high-profile officials including Mark Lippert, the assistant secretary of defense for Asian and Pacific security affairs, and Dan

Jan. 14, 2013

U.S. Army chief says S. Korea capable of taking wartime

South Korea has been working closely with the United States to reclaim its wartime operational command from Washington in 2015 as scheduled, the U.S. Army chief of staff said Friday.Gen. Raymond Odierno was in Seoul for a two-day trip which included a meeting with his South Korean counterpart, Gen. Cho Jung-hwan. The topics included ways to strengthen the allies’ deterrence against North Korea  after the planned transfer of operational command."I'm very confident that South Korea is more than ca

Jan. 11, 2013

Military to double soldiers' pay during Park's term

The defense ministry plans to double soldiers' salaries in the next five years to carry out incoming President Park Geun-hye's election pledge, officials said Thursday.The plan will be reported to Park's transition team on Friday, the first briefing by a government agency since Park was elected in December, along with other major defense and security issues.The move comes as Park promised to double soldiers' pay, which is set at 96,000 won ($90) on average, to appeal to soldiers and their parent

Jan. 10, 2013

Ministry imposes lightest punishment on singer Rain

K-pop star Rain, a military corporal, received the lowest punishment from the Defense Ministry on Tuesday for dating actress Kim Tae-hee while on official duty.A disciplinary panel at his battalion decided to put the 30-year-old singer, whose real name is Jung Ji-hoon, on a seven-day probation. He was recently found to have met with the top actress on several occasions last month.The Defense Ministry has vowed to enhance monitoring of entertainment-career soldiers amid criticism about special tr

Jan. 8, 2013

Normalized tours impossible this year: USFK

The U.S. military in South Korea said Friday it will again be unable this year to normalize tours of its troops here where more troops will be accompanied by their family members.The U.S. military has been trying since 2008 to increase the number of troops on "normal" or family-accompanied tours to about half of its 28,500 soldiers stationed in South Korea by 2020, but it has been unable to begin the process largely due to lack of funds.The U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) said in a statement that its c

Jan. 4, 2013

Allies set up joint working group on new command

The South Korean and U.S. militaries have set up a joint working group to discuss their new combined command structure to be established following Seoul’s retaking of wartime operational control slated for December 2015.“As agreed in the Security Consultative Meeting last October, the allies have been in consultation over the future command structure,” said Defense Ministry spokesperson Kim Min-seok in a regular press briefing. “To develop the discussion, a joint working group was launched on De

Jan. 4, 2013

USFK's dream of 'tour normalization' hamstrung by military budget cut

The Pentagon's shoestring budget is taking its toll on a dream of U.S. soldiers to bring their families to South Korea -- the so-called "tour normalization" program.Concerns are growing that South Korea may be forced to shoulder more of the financial burden for stationing 28,500 American troops on the peninsula, a legacy of the 1950-53 Korean War.This year, Seoul and Washington are set for tough negotiations on how to split the cost for U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) for 2014-2018.The Pentagon faces m

Jan. 4, 2013

Korea to buy U.S. Seahawk choppers for naval use

South Korea has decided to buy eight advanced multi-purpose maritime helicopters from the United States for its Navy, military sources said. The MH-60R Seahawk helicopter manufactured by Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. was chosen over the AW-195 Wildcat manufactured by the Anglo-Italian company AgustaWestland, they said.“After completing test evaluations in September, we’ve conducted a series of analysis and negotiations on details including technology, terms of contracts and prices,” said one Navy offi

Jan. 2, 2013

Korea to buy U.S. Seahawk choppers for naval operation

South Korea has decided to buy eight advanced multi-purpose maritime helicopters from the United States for its Navy, military sources said Tuesday.The MH-60R Seahawk helicopter manufactured by Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. was chosen over the AW-195 Wildcat manufactured by the Anglo-Italian company AgustaWestland, they said."After completing test evaluations in September, we've conducted a series of analysis and negotiations on details including technology, terms of contracts and rices," said one Nav

Jan. 1, 2013

Tour bus crash in Oregon kills 9, including Koreans

PENDLETON, Ore. (AP) -- A tour bus careened through a guardrail along an icy Oregon highway and 100 feet down a steep embankment Sunday, killing nine people and injuring more than 20 others, authorities said.The charter bus carrying about 40 people lost control around 10:30 a.m. on snow- and ice-covered lanes of Interstate 84 in a rural area of eastern Oregon, according to the Oregon State Police. The bus crashed near the start of a 7-mile section of road that winds down a hill.The bus came to r

Dec. 31, 2012

S. Korea snubs Japan's protest over Dokdo

South Korea has rejected a protest by Japan over Seoul's annual defense report that reaffirms its bid to protect the easternmost islets of Dokdo, a senior official said Monday.Japan recently sent the South Korean government an official letter protesting the defense white paper that made clear Seoul's sovereignty over Dokdo, which Tokyo has also claimed as its own.In a rebuttal letter to Japan, South Korea reiterated that, "Dokdo is an integral part of Korean territory historically, geographicall

Dec. 31, 2012

Hyundai Capital hacking suspect caught in Philippines

A hacker suspected of stealing customer data last year from Hyundai Capital, a subsidiary of South Korea’s top automaker, has been arrested in the Philippines, police here said Wednesday.The 39-year-old man, identified only by his surname Shin, allegedly broke into the computer system of the financial firm 43,376 times between February and April of last year and stole personal information of nearly 1.75 million customers, police said.After being apprehended by Philippine authorities, Shin was ex

Dec. 26, 2012