No additional COVID-19 cases reported among JCS members

No additional coronavirus cases have been reported among members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) since a civilian JCS employee tested positive earlier this week, the defense ministry said Wednesday. The employee tested positive Monday, marking the first case since November reported from the Yongsan compound where the ministry and the JCS headquarters are located. "Around 80 people, including those who came into contact with the man, underwent virus tests so far, and all of them tested

Feb. 17, 2021

First COVID case reported at military headquarters

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff reported Tuesday the first coronavirus case at its headquarters in Seoul. A civilian office worker tested positive the previous day, pushing about 20 workers into a two-week quarantine and about 200 employees to take COVID-19 tests. “The infected employee did not make a trip to the ministry headquarters,” a Defense Ministry official said. The JCS and ministry headquarters sit side by side at the Yongsan compound that houses

Feb. 16, 2021

Military lifts vacation ban for troops as govt. eases distancing rules

The military on Monday lifted a vacation ban for enlisted service members that has been in place for over two months in accordance with the government's easing of social distancing guidelines against the new coronavirus. Since late November, the military restricted rank-and-file troops from vacations and off-base activities under Level 2.5 social distancing rules, the second highest in its five-tier alert system, following a surge in COVID-19 cases across the nation. Starting Monday, the guida

Feb. 15, 2021

Defense ministry says details of S. Korea-US combined exercise yet to be finalized

South Korea and the United States have yet to work out the schedule and other details of a planned joint springtime exercise, the defense ministry said Monday. The computer-simulated command post training is likely to kick off in mid-March, according to sources, but the ministry declined to confirm when it's going to happen, saying that discussions are still under way to finalize the plan. "South Korea and the US are closely coordinating how to stage the exercise in consideration of the C

Feb. 15, 2021

S. Korea to spend W4.3tr on defense R&D this year

South Korea will invest 4.3 trillion won ($3.9 billion) in research and development in the defense sector this year to secure cutting-edge technologies and boost the industry's competitiveness, the arms procurement agency said Monday. The amount is up 10 percent from 3.9 trillion won earmarked last year and includes 631.8 billion won for the research and development of core weapon technologies, according to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration. Under its 2021 plan, the agency said it

Feb. 15, 2021

S. Korean service member on overseas mission tests positive for coronavirus

A non-commissioned officer on a peacekeeping mission in South Sudan has tested positive for the new coronavirus, the defense ministry said Sunday. The member of the Hanbit Unit in the African nation was confirmed to have contracted the virus upon return from off-installation duty, according to the ministry. It is the fourth COVID-19 case reported among troops dispatched abroad following three infections reported in Lebanon and Bahrain earlier this month. South Korea began sending troops to So

Feb. 14, 2021

South Korea, US will start military drills

South Korea and the US will begin their biannual joint military exercises in the second week of March, carrying out computer simulations of war against North Korea for nine days, sources said Sunday. Seoul and Washington, which have held them to deter aggression from Pyongyang since the 1953 Korean War armistice, now take part in computer-based war games rather than all-out field exercises. The two allies still do not see eye to eye on testing Korea’s readiness to take over the wartime

Feb. 14, 2021

S. Korean, US preparing to stage combined exercise in mid-March: sources

South Korea and the United States are preparing to hold their annual springtime combined military exercise next month, sources said Sunday. The planned exercise has drawn keen attention amid concern that North Korea could use the exercise as a pretext for provocations in the early months of the administration of US President Joe Biden. Pyongyang has long denounced such drills as a rehearsal for invasion. Despite complaints from the North, the computer-simulated command post training will likel

Feb. 14, 2021

Fewer S. Korea-US combined drills staged in 2020 amid pandemic: data

  South Korea and the United States conducted fewer joint military exercises last year compared with a year earlier amid the coronavirus pandemic, defense ministry data showed Saturday.    The two countries staged a total of 172 joint training sessions in South Korea last year, down from 191 in 2019.    By service branch, joint maneuvers between their armies tumbled to 29 times last year from 89 in 2019, and their marine corps' combined programs were carried out seven

Feb. 13, 2021

Discharged transgender soldier struggles to make a return

Byun Hee-soo, South Korea’s first transgender soldier, who was discharged from the military last year after undergoing sex reassignment surgery, is battling her way back into the Army. In January 2020, the Army fired the former staff sergeant, a tank gunner who served at an armored unit in Gyeonggi Province, saying the surgery rendered her mentally and physically unfit to be on active duty. Byun wanted to remain in the military as a female. In August, Byun petitioned the court to reverse

Feb. 12, 2021

Defense minister rekindles debate over volunteer military

Mandatory military service is a rite of passage for every able-bodied man in South Korea, which technically remains at war with North Korea since the 1953 Korean War armistice. A military made up of volunteers seeking lifetime jobs as career soldiers was once unimaginable, but that has changed. “Everything -- including plans to shift to an all-volunteer military -- is on the table to restructure our armed forces by 2040,” Defense Minister Suh Wook told a New Year’s press brief

Feb. 11, 2021

Negotiations under way with Indonesia over fighter jet project: official

South Korea is in talks with Indonesia about a joint project to develop a next-generation fighter jet, the head of the arms procurement agency said Tuesday, amid speculation that the Southeast Asian nation wants to quit the project. Indonesia agreed to partner in South Korea's KF-X project aimed at developing a new fighter jet by 2026, and promised to shoulder 20 percent of the total development cost of 8.8 trillion won ($7.3 billion), or about 1.7 trillion won. But Indonesia stopped making pa

Feb. 9, 2021

USFK live-fire exercise suspended amid residents' complaints

A planned live-fire exercise involving Apache attack helicopters of the US Forces Korea has been suspended following noise and other complaints from residents near the firing range in the southeastern city of Pohang, officials said. The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission said the drill, which had been scheduled to begin on Tuesday and continue until next month, will be suspended while a mediation procedure is under way with residents near the Suseong firing range in Pohang. "As t

Feb. 9, 2021

S. Korea to develop indigenous long-range radar to boost air defense capabilities

South Korea will develop an indigenous long-range radar for air defense in order to replace old ones brought in from abroad, the arms procurement agency said Monday. The Defense Acquisition Program Administration signed a 46 billion won ($41 million) deal with LIG Nex1 Co. for the four-year development project with a plan to begin its deployment in 2027, the agency said. The radar would be capable of monitoring and identifying aircraft inside the Korea Air Defense Identification Zone (KADIZ) a

Feb. 8, 2021

US committed to 'mutually acceptable' SMA deal with S. Korea: State Dept.

WASHINGTON -- The United States is committed to quickly reaching a defense cost-sharing agreement with South Korea that will be acceptable to both and help strengthen their alliance, an official from the US Department of State said Friday. The remarks came after Seoul officials said the sides agreed to seek an early conclusion of talks on Seoul's share of the cost in maintaining 28,500 US troops on the Korean Peninsula in a meeting held Friday (Seoul time). "We decline to comment on

Feb. 6, 2021

8 US Space Force guardians serving on peninsula

Eight members of the US Space Force are currently serving at an American air base in South Korea, US military officers have said. CM Sgt. Philip Hudson, 7th Air Force command chief, made the revelation during a webinar held on Tuesday, saying "now we have eight guardians on the peninsula." Earlier, the US military said an enlistment ceremony was held at the Kunsan Air Base in the western city of Gunsan on Monday to mark the transition of three airmen from the 8th Communications Squad

Feb. 5, 2021

S. Korea, US agree to seek early conclusion of defense cost-sharing talks

South Korea and the United States agreed to pursue an early conclusion of their defense cost-sharing talks to help strengthen their alliance and defense posture during their video talks Friday, the foreign ministry said. Seoul's top negotiator, Jeong Eun-bo, and his US counterpart, Donna Welton, led their first such meeting since last month's launch of the Joe Biden administration to advance their negotiations to determine Seoul's share of the cost for stationing the 28,500-strong US Forces Ko

Feb. 5, 2021

Army officer tests positive for coronavirus

An Army officer has tested positive for the new coronavirus, raising the total caseload among the military population to 554, the defense ministry said Friday. The officer, based in Pyeongtaek, some 70 kilometers south of Seoul, was confirmed to have contracted COVID-19 after an infection was reported at the base, according to the ministry. The soldier was in quarantine and confirmed to be infected in a virus test conducted prior to release. Nationwide, South Korea's total COVID-19 caseload b

Feb. 5, 2021

120 service members complete Army's new mine-removal training program

The Army said Friday that more than 100 troops have completed its recently launched mine-removal training program and will be deployed next month. The trainees -- 110 Army personnel, six airmen and four Marines -- completed the armed service's first specialized education curriculum that meets the International Mine Action Standards (IMAS). The two-week program was launched last month to train troops on explosive ordnance disposal, first aid and mine clearance. Previously, the military's mine

Feb. 5, 2021

S. Korea, US discussing how to hold combined exercise amid pandemic: defense ministry

South Korea and the United States are in talks over how to hold their annual springtime combined exercise in consideration of the coronavirus situation, the defense ministry said Thursday. The planned exercise has drawn keen attention amid concern that the North could use the exercise as a pretext for provocations in the early months of the administration of US President Joe Biden. Pyongyang has long denounced such drills as a rehearsal for invasion. The defense ministry has said the exercise

Feb. 4, 2021