US Korean War veteran hoping to reunite with S. Korean fellow soldier

A US veteran of the Korean War is hoping to find his long-lost South Korean fellow who fought together during the 1950-53 conflict and gave him an unforgettable gift: a Korean national flag, Seoul's veterans affairs ministry said Tuesday. Upon the request by James Lantz, the 90-year-old veteran, the ministry launched a campaign to find the Korean Marine that he met in Daegu, 302 kilometers south of Seoul, in 1951. He does not remember the Marine's name. Lantz made the request in April

June 7, 2022

US nuclear-powered supercarrier, S. Korean naval fleet conduct military drills

A US nuclear-powered aircraft carrier staged military drills with South Korean warships to enhance the alliance’s combat readiness against North Korea’s mounting threats and demonstrate the US commitment to defend South Korea. The US carrier strike group conducted the bilateral military exercises with the South Korean Navy’s fleet between Thursday and Saturday in the international waters southeast of the island prefecture of Okinawa, Japan, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of

June 4, 2022

Defense chiefs of S.Korea, China to meet at Shangri-La Dialogue

South Korean and Chinese defense chiefs will hold bilateral talks on the sidelines of a major international security forum, Seoul’s Defense Ministry announced Thursday. The meeting comes as South Korea’s newly inaugurated Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup is set to make his international debut at the Shangri-La Dialogue Asian security summit to be held in Singapore from June 10 to 12. China’s minister of national defense and state councilor, Wei Fenghe, will also participate in

June 2, 2022

S. Korea, Philippines to ink arrangement on support for Korean War veterans

South Korea and the Philippines will sign an arrangement later this week to strengthen support for each other's Korean War veterans and exchanges among their descendants, Seoul's veterans affairs ministry said Thursday. Veterans Affairs Minister Park Min-shik and senior Philippine officials, including Defense Secretary Delfin N. Lorenzana and Veterans Affairs Office Administrator Ernesto G. Carolina, are set to join the signing ceremony on Friday. During the 1950-53 war, the Philippine

June 2, 2022

Poland requests S. Korea to accelerate arms supplies amid Ukraine war

South Korea has approved a defense contractor to begin negotiations on arms exports to Poland as the central European country called for support to accelerate and expand the delivery of weapons amid the war in Ukraine. South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration said Tuesday that it has given the green light for Hanwha Defense to kick off dialogue on exporting K4 machine guns to Poland. The announcement came after Polish Minister of National Defense Mariusz Blaszczak on Mo

May 31, 2022

S. Korea sends largest-scale naval fleet to US-led exercise

South Korea has dispatched the largest-scale naval fleet and a brigadier general to the US-led multinational maritime exercise to be held in and around the Hawaiian Islands next month. A flotilla of warships, maritime aircraft and troops left a naval base on the southern island of Jeju at noon Tuesday to participate in the biennial Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) Exercise, South Korea’s Navy announced the same day. This year marks South Korea’s 17th participation in the RIMPAC exerci

May 31, 2022

S. Korea reviews ammunition exports to restock Canadian weapons sent to Ukraine

The South Korean government has been reviewing the export of artillery shells to Canada in a bid to help the country replenish its depleted weapons stocks sent to Ukraine. Canada recently asked if South Korea is able to export 100,000 rounds of 155 mm artillery ammunition through a diplomatic channel, a South Korean senior official at the Defense Ministry confirmed to The Korea Herald on Monday. The South Korean official said the government has not yet formally begun procedures to proceed wi

May 30, 2022

Redback armored vehicle flaunts field maneuverability

A South Korean-made armored vehicle roared through puddles, traversed unpaved roads and shifted course smoothly in its first local capability demonstration open to the press at an Army training site. The manufacturer, Hanwha Defense, held the event highlighting the maneuverability of the Redback -- the vehicle designed to meet the Australian military's operational requirements -- at the 11th Maneuver Division in Hongcheon, 102 kilometers east of Seoul, on Friday. The Redback has been in a c

May 29, 2022

Defense chiefs of S. Korea, US, Japan arranging talks in Singapore next month

TOKYO -- Defense ministers of South Korea, the United States and Japan have been arranging trilateral talks on the sidelines of an annual security forum in Singapore next month, Japan's Kyodo News reported Sunday. South Korean Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup and his US and Japanese counterparts, Lloyd Austin and Nobuo Kishi, are reportedly expected to join the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore set for June 10-12. Citing a Japanese government official, the report said that the three defense min

May 29, 2022

Deputy CFC chief Gen. Kim tapped to lead Joint Chiefs of Staff

Army Gen. Kim Seung-kyum, the deputy commander of the South Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command (CFC), was named to lead the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), the defense ministry said Wednesday, in the first reshuffle of top military officers since the launch of the Yoon Suk-yeol administration. The shake-up was announced hours after North Korea's launches of three ballistic missiles into the East Sea. Lt. Gen. Park Jeong-hwan, the vice JCS chief, was named the new Army chief of staff while Lt.

May 25, 2022

Multiple Russian, Chinese warplanes enter KADIZ without notice: JCS

Multiple Russian and Chinese warplanes entered South Korea's air defense identification zone (KADIZ) without notice on Tuesday, prompting the Air Force to scramble fighters to the scene, Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said.    The JCS said that two Chinese and four Russian warplanes entered the KADIZ, but did not violate South Korea's territorial air.    "Prior to their entry into the KADIZ, our military deployed Air Force fighters to conduct tactical steps in pr

May 24, 2022

S. Korean military commits to stepping up Ukraine support at US-led dialogue

South Korea’s Defense Ministry committed to seeking ways to step up support for Ukraine at the US-led defense dialogue while taking a cautious stance over providing lethal weapons to the war-torn country. Vice Defense Minister Shin Beom-chul on Monday attended a second virtual meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group hosted by US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense announced Tuesday. The group was first established by the Pentagon in A

May 24, 2022

S. Korea installs sensors to prevent suicides in new military prison

South Korea has introduced breathing sensors in a new military prison to help prevent suicides, an informed source said Tuesday, in the first installation of such equipment at a local correctional facility. The military installed the domestically developed sensor in about 50 cells, including solitary confinement rooms, at the prison in Icheon, 80 kilometers south of Seoul. It is to officially open next month. The sensors are designed to monitor inmates' breathing in real time and programmed

May 24, 2022

S. Korea's vice defense minister attends US-led dialogue on support for Ukraine

South Korea's Vice Defense Minister Shin Beom-chul has attended a virtual session of a US-led forum on support for war-torn Ukraine, his ministry said Tuesday. Hosted by US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Monday's session of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group involved officials from some 40 countries. Participants discussed the situation in Ukraine and joint efforts to aid the nation, according to the ministry. Shin strongly condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine as an "act

May 24, 2022

S. Korea to ensure full operation of THAAD base at early date: defense chief

South Korea will ensure the full-capacity operation of a military base that hosts the US-made Terminal High Altitude Area Defense interceptor system at an early date, the South Korean defense chief said Monday. The US THAAD missile defense battery has been temporarily deployed on the now-shuttered Lotte Skyhill golf course in Seongju County, North Gyeongsang Province, since 2017. The normal operation of the military base had been hampered by the yearslong postponed full-scale environmental im

May 23, 2022

Military to begin reserve forces' training next month after 2-year hiatus

South Korea will resume an annual field training program for its reserve forces in a scaled-back manner next month after two years of suspension caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the state military recruitment agency said Monday. Starting June 20, some 500,000 reservists will be called upon to complete the program, consisting of field drills and an online session lasting eight hours each, according to the Military Manpower Administration. In the pre-pandemic era, most reservists were required to

May 23, 2022

Hanwha Systems teams up with Italian defense firm for advanced radar export

Hanwha Systems Co., the defense and ICT unit of South Korean conglomerate Hanwha Group, said Monday it has partnered with an Italian defense company to cooperate on the export of an advanced radar system as it eyes to further expand its overseas foothold. The memorandum of understanding signed with Leonardo S.p.A. commits the two firms to work on developing an integrated solution that combines Hanwha's active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar antenna devices with Leonardo's signal proces

May 23, 2022

Biden, Yoon pledge to step up military drills, strengthen US extended deterrence against N.Korean threats

The leaders of South Korea and the United States on Saturday agreed to step up combined military exercises against North Korea’s mounting threats and reinforce the US’ extended deterrence. During their first summit, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and US President Joe Biden discussed ways to strengthen their combined defense posture at a juncture when North Korea has continued pursuing the development of nuclear weapons and missiles.  "President Yoon and I committed

May 21, 2022

US flies spy plane to East Sea amid concerns about possible NK missile launch

The US military has flown a reconnaissance plane toward the East Sea, an aviation tracker said Thursday, amid concerns about the possibility of another intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) launch by North Korea. In a Twitter post, Aircraft Spots released an image showing an RC-135S Cobra Ball aircraft en route to the East Sea. It said the flight was to "monitor the North Korean missile launch window." The previous day, Kim Tae-hyo, the first deputy chief of South Korea's pres

May 19, 2022

Biden considers DMZ trip during upcoming visit to S. Korea: sources

US President Joe Biden may visit the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas during his trip here later this week, as the allies are in consultations on his specific itinerary, informed sources said Tuesday. Biden is set to arrive in Seoul on Friday, the eve of his first summit with President Yoon Suk-yeol. The DMZ, the heavily fortified inter-Korean border, is among the key sites that Biden could visit during his three-day stay, according to the sources. The visit to the DMZ, if real

May 17, 2022