S. Korea, US to stage scaled-back combined air exercise to replace Vigilant Ace: officials

South Korea and the United States are not considering resuming their annual Vigilant Ace joint air exercise and will instead hold a scaled-back flying training together, officials said Tuesday.The allies decided last year to suspend the massive Vigilant Ace drills in an effort to support diplomatic efforts to convince the communist nation to give up its nuclear programs. The sides instead held a replacement exercise, called the Combined Flying Training Event.The Vigilant Ace maneuvers will be sk

Nov. 5, 2019

US spy aircraft on missions over East Sea: aviation tracker

The United States flew a RC-135S surveillance plane over South Korea's East Sea, an aviation tracker said Tuesday, on an apparent mission to collect intelligence regarding North Korea.The RC-135S Cobra Ball aircraft departed Kadena Air Base in Japan's Okinawa and flew over the East Sea earlier in the day, Aircraft Spots said in a Twitter post.The surveillance aircraft last made a similar flight over the region in early October. As one of America's major intelligence-gathering assets, the aircraf

Nov. 5, 2019

S. Korea, US to skip combined Vigilant Ace exercise: sources

South Korea and the United States are expected to skip a combined wintertime air exercise just as they did last year to support ongoing diplomacy for the denuclearization of North Korea, sources said Sunday. Military authorities of the two countries "shared the understanding" on the postponement of the Vigilant Ace air exercise that usually takes place around December, a source said, adding that a final decision will be made when the two countries hold annual defense ministers talks la

Nov. 3, 2019

S. Korea to resume war remains excavation next week after ASF-driven suspension

South Korea's military is expected to resume a project next week to excavate and identify war remains near the border with North Korea after it was suspended due to the outbreak of African swine fever (ASF), officials said Saturday.The excavation mission will be restarted on Arrowhead Ridge, Cheorwon, some 90 kilometers northeast of Seoul, where about 300 soldiers from South Korea, the United States and France are believed to have been killed in bloody battles during the 1950-53 Korean War."

Nov. 2, 2019

Chinese military plane enters KADIZ after prior notification for first time

A Chinese military plane entered South Korea's air defense identification zone after sending prior notification on Tuesday, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said, in a turnaround from China's practice of breaching the zone without notice.The plane, believed to be Y-9 transport aircraft, sent advance notices before entering the South Korean air defense identification zone twice over waters near the country's southern island of Jeju. It stayed in the zone for about 77 minutes in total, according to the o

Oct. 29, 2019

Two US B-52 bombers fly over East Sea: aviation tracker

Two US B-52 strategic bombers flew over the East Sea last week, an aviation tracker said, in a mission possibly designed to send a warning in response to North Korea's recent series of missile launches. The bombers, which took off from Guam's Anderson Air Base, "conducted a mission" in the East Sea and "possibly the South China Sea" on Friday, Aircraft Spots said on a Twitter post. Three KC-135R aerial tankers provided support for their flight. The B-52 is considered a repres

Oct. 27, 2019

USFK chief observes Korean army drill

US Forces Korea unveiled on Friday a photograph of its commander observing a firing drill by a South Korean artillery brigade in a frontline training ground in Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province. Gen. Robert Abrams, commander of USFK and the Combined Forces of Command, visited the South Korean army’s 5th Artillery Brigade at Rodriquez Range along with Gen. Choi Byung-hyuk, deputy commander of CFC, for a live fire demonstration on Oct. 23, USFK said in a Facebook post with a photo of the two and Ge

Oct. 25, 2019

S Korea, US end defense cost-sharing talks amid low expectations of progress

South Korea and the United States wrapped up a new round of defense cost-sharing talks, the foreign ministry said Friday, amid low expectations of progress due to wide differences between the two sides. The two days of talks in Hawaii marked the second time the allies have met to negotiate a new Special Measures Agreement on how the two sides should share the cost of the upkeep of the 28,500 US troops stationed in South Korea.The first round of the talks took place in Seoul last month. Details o

Oct. 25, 2019

Allies should contribute more for US troops defending their land, says US defense secretary

As defense cost-sharing negotiations between South Korea and the United States were to take place Wednesday, US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper highlighted the importance of allies sharing the burden for maintaining US forces in their countries.“I’ve said since I took office, the importance of burden-sharing from all of our allies and partners, whether it’s host nation support in Japan, whether it’s increased GDP from our European allies, the key is to help share the burd

Oct. 23, 2019

Vice defense chief calls for swift formation of inter-Korean defense committee

South Korean Vice Defense Minister Park Jae-min on Tuesday called for the swift establishment of an inter-Korean military committee that the South and the North agreed to set up during a summit of their leaders last year.Park made the remarks during a session on international arms control at the 9th Beijing Xiangshan Forum held in the Chinese capital city, referring to the Comprehensive Military Agreement (CMA) that the two Koreas signed on the sidelines of the third summit between President Moo

Oct. 22, 2019

Russian military aircraft intrude into S. Korea's air defense zone

A military aircraft believed to be from Russia violated South Korea's air defense identification zone over the East Sea on Tuesday, prompting the Air Force to scramble fighter jets to turn it back, a Joint Chiefs of Staff officer said.The plane entered the Korean Air Defense Identification Zone earlier in the day without prior notice, the officer said, adding that F-15K fighter jets were scrambled to the area to force the plane to retreat.Other details, including the type of the plane, its fligh

Oct. 22, 2019

China's defense chief meets vice defense ministers from Koreas: Xinhua

China's Defense Minister Wei Fenghe held bilateral meetings with the vice defense ministers from the two Koreas and called for boosting cooperation with the respective countries, China's Xinhua News Agency reported Monday.Wei Fenghe met with Seoul's Vice Defense Minister Park Jae-min on Sunday in Beijing on the sidelines of the 9th Beijing Xiangshan Forum that kicked off in the day for a three-day run until Tuesday, according to the news report.     During the meeting, Wei Fe

Oct. 21, 2019

Google Maps exposes 40 percent of South Korea’s military installations: lawmaker

The locations of about 40 percent of South Korea’s military installations, including some crucial fighter wings, are openly revealed on Google Maps, a lawmaker said Sunday.According to data that Rep. Park Kwang-on of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea received from the Ministry of National Defense, about 40 percent of all military installations here are exposed as satellite images on Google Maps. The exact number of installations has not been revealed because it is a military secret. The

Oct. 20, 2019

S. Korea, China to hold first 'strategic' defense talks in 5 years

South Korea and China will hold high-level defense talks this week, resuming an annual dialogue that has been suspended since its last session in 2014 due to tensions over Seoul's decision to host an advanced US missile defense system.Vice Defense Minister Park Jae-min plans to make a three-day trip to Beijing through Tuesday. He's scheduled to hold the fifth South Korea-China vice ministerial strategic defense dialogue Monday with Lt. Gen. Shao Yuanming, deputy chief of the Joint Staff Departme

Oct. 20, 2019

S. Korea, US to hold defense cost talks in Hawaii next week

South Korea and the United States plan to hold a new round of negotiations on sharing the cost of the upkeep for the 28,500-strong US Forces Korea in Hawaii next week, Seoul's foreign ministry said Friday.Seoul's top negotiator, Jeong Eun-bo, and his US counterpart, James Dehart, will meet in Honolulu on Wednesday and Thursday. The last round of talks took place in Seoul last month. "Based on the stance that our government will shoulder the fair share of defense costs at a reasonable l

Oct. 18, 2019

NSC reviews strategy on defense cost talks with US

South Korea's National Security Council on Friday reviewed issues related to defense cost-sharing talks with the United States, Cheong Wa Dae said.Seoul and Washington are expected to hold another round of Special Measures Agreement negotiations in Hawaii next week.It would be the first bargaining session since the Moon Jae-in administration appointed Jeong Eun-bo, a veteran finance official, as its new top negotiator. The US is calling for a sharp increase in Seoul's contribution to the presenc

Oct. 18, 2019

US has no secret plan to make UNC operational headquarters: Abrams

The United States does not have any “secret plan” to make the United Nations Command an operational command, and media reports regarding this are “fake news,” Gen. Robert Abrams, the UNC commander said Thursday.As South Korea is gearing up to retrieve its wartime operational control from the US, concerns have been raised here that Washington would try to keep its authority over the military activities in the region by strengthening the US-led UNC. “There is no

Oct. 17, 2019

Defense minister meets with US Pacific Air Forces commander

Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo and US Pacific Air Forces commander Gen. Charles Brown agreed Wednesday to boost cooperation between the two countries' air forces for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, the defense ministry said Wednesday.The meeting took place in Seoul as Brown was in South Korea to attend the Seoul International Aerospace & Defense Exhibition underway at Seoul Airport in Seongnam, south of Seoul, from Tuesday to Sunday."Minister Jeong and Commander Brown s

Oct. 16, 2019

S. Korea, US stage more combined marine exercises this year

South Korea and the United States carried out more combined marine exercises in 2019 than in previous years, the Marine Corps said Tuesday.The allies conducted 24 rounds of the Korea Marine Exercise Program this year, up from 11 in 2018 and 17 in 2017, the service said in a report presented to the National Assembly for an audit. Next year, the two sides are planning to hold 22 rounds of the KMEP drills, it added. The exercise is designed to bolster defense of South Korea's northwestern border is

Oct. 15, 2019

Newspaper reports defense minister sent letters stating S. Korea’s approval needed for UNC expansion

South Korea has told members of the United Nations Command that its approval must be granted for any expansion plans, a local media outlet reported Monday.According to the Kyunghyang Sinmun, Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo sent a letter to the embassies of 16 sending states here in July stating that the US-led UNC would have to obtain approval from South Korea to proceed with its plans to “revitalize” the organization. In the letter, Jeong is said to have stated that the UNC would

Oct. 14, 2019