Allies’ security chiefs vow prompt THAAD deployment

The security chiefs of South Korea and the US on Wednesday vowed to accelerate bilateral efforts to station an advanced US missile defense system here, as the allies kicked off a joint annual military exercise designed to defend against North Korea’s nuclear and missile provocations. During their first phone call, National Security Office chief Kim Kwan-jin and US National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster reaffirmed the need to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system here “without a

March 1, 2017

Korea, US defense chiefs vow to fight against any attack

US Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis assured South Korea that any attack on the United States and its allies will be defeated, as the two allies kicked off an annual joint military exercise sure to draw angry protests from North Korea. Mattis made the remark in a phone call Wednesday (Korean time) with South Korean Defense Minister Han Min-koo as the two countries launched the annual Foal Eagle military exercise that North Korea has denounced as a rehearsal for invasion.US Defense Secretary James

March 1, 2017

Military, Lotte conclude land swap contract for THAAD

South Korea’s military and Lotte Group on Tuesday officially signed a contract to exchange the land needed to station a US missile defense system here, boosting efforts to accelerate the deployment despite mounting pushback from China. 　In a written statement, the Ministry of Defense said the military had concluded the land-swap deal with Lotte Group, who handed over its golf course in the southeastern rural country of Seongju to host the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system and received a

Feb. 28, 2017

S. Korea calls THAAD installation self-defense against NK threats

South Korea reiterated on Tuesday that the planned installment of an advanced US missile defense system on its oil is a "self-defense" measure against North Korea's growing nuclear and missile threats.The government pledged to take necessary steps to protect its companies from any unfair treatment in China amid growing concerns that Beijing will ramp up what appears to be retaliatory action against the planned installation of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system. Foreign Ministry spoke

Feb. 28, 2017

S. Korea, US to begin joint exercise Wednesday amid NK tensions

South Korea and the United States plan to kick off an annual joint military exercise Wednesday amid heightening tensions following the North's recent missile test and the death of its leader's half brother."The allies will begin the Foal Eagle exercise tomorrow, which lasts through the end of April, and the Key Resolve exercise will be held starting March 13," an official at the defense ministry told Yonhap News Agency. This undated Yonhap News TV image shows soldiers and strategic assets during

Feb. 28, 2017

US Air Force in Korea conducts quarterly exercise

The US Air Force in South Korea is conducting a weeklong combat exercise amid growing threats from North Korea, the US Forces Korea said Monday. Aircraft and personnel assigned to the 51st Fighter Wing in Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, 70 kilometers south of Seoul, are participating in the Exercise Beverly Herd to sharpen their combat skills by simulating sorties in a realistic threat environment, the USFK said in a statement. (Yonhap)The exercise "provides the 51st Fighter Wing with the ability t

Feb. 27, 2017

N. Korea operating regiment-level biochemical weapons unit: military

South Korea's military said Monday that Pyongyang is presumed to be operating a regiment-level biochemical weapons unit, highlighting the need for the country to be prepared for unconventional attacks.Seoul is paying more attention to Pyongyang's development of biochemical weapons after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's half brother Kim Jong-nam was killed in Malaysia earlier this month. The eldest son of late former leader Kim Jong-il died on Feb. 13 at an airport in Kuala Lumpur after apparent

Feb. 27, 2017

S. Korea needs to accelerate THAAD installation to minimize damage: expert

South Korea needs to speed up its planned installment of a US advanced anti-missile system on its soil in a bid to minimize any damage stemming from China's strong opposition, a local expert said Monday.In July, Seoul and Washington unveiled their joint plan to place the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system on the Korean Peninsula by the end of this year as part of efforts to better counter the growing missile threat from North Korea. China has been staunch in its opposition, saying it cou

Feb. 27, 2017

Military reiterates no changes in THAAD deployment this year

The military reiterated Monday that the advanced US missile defense system will be deployed in South Korea as planned to counter missile threats from North Korea. South Korea's Defense Ministry spokesman Moon Sang-gyun (Yonhap)"We don't expect any changes to the planned deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system in South Korea within this year," Defense Ministry spokesman Moon Sang-gyun said in a briefing. Lotte Group plans to hold a board of directors' meeting to approve the l

Feb. 27, 2017

Korea to conclude land acquisition for THAAD battery this week

South Korea is expected to conclude the land acquisition for the US advanced missile defense system this week with actual deployment to be completed by late June at the earliest, the military said Sunday.The defense ministry said administrative measures to take over the Lotte Skyhill Country Club in Seongju County, North Gyeongsang Province, owned by local retail giant Lotte Group will be completed soon. (Yonhap)It said plans are already under way to start environmental impact evaluations on the

Feb. 26, 2017

S. Korea, US moving to use latest detection gear to counter NK chemical biological threats

South Korea and the United States are moving to employ their latest detection equipment to prepare for North Korean chemical and biological weapons in the joint military drill planned for this year, sources said Sunday.The move is in response to Pyongyang being accused of using the lethal VX nerve agent to kill Kim Jong-nam, the estranged half brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, at a crowded airport in Malaysia on Feb. 13.(Yonhap)The allies have been conducting the Able Response chemical

Feb. 26, 2017

Korea's troop level under volunteer system would be 150,000-200,000: KIDA

South Korea's troop level would hover around 150,000-200,000 if the country abandons its conscription system for a volunteer force, a state-run think tank said Sunday.The findings by the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses based on an assessment of other countries that maintain a volunteer military showed on average that 0.4 percent of the population serves in the armed forces, which is roughly half of the number for places that rely on mandatory conscription.(Yonhap)"In the United States, it s

Feb. 26, 2017

NK assassination to serve as momentum for adding Pyongyang to terrorism list

The recent killing of the half brother of North Korea's leader would serve as momentum for relisting the communist regime as a state sponsor of terrorism, a senior South Korean official said Thursday.Kim Jong-nam, the eldest son of late former leader Kim Jong-il, died on Feb. 13 at an airport in Kuala Lumpur after apparently being poisoned by two Asian women. Malaysian police named eight North Koreans, including a diplomat, as suspects, though Pyongyang denies its involvement. (Yonhap)"There hav

Feb. 24, 2017

NK moving solidly toward nuclear 'second strike capability'

North Korea's latest missile test shows the communist nation is moving solidly toward perfecting capabilities to strike back with a nuclear weapon if it comes under a nuclear attack, a US expert said Thursday.The North carried out the missile launch on Feb. 12 in its first provocative act since the inauguration of US President Donald Trump. Pyongyang said the launch represented a successful test of a newly developed intermediate-range missile powered by solid fuel, calling it the Pukguksong-2. 

Feb. 24, 2017

Military harnesses advanced IT solutions to enhance capabilities

South Korea's defense ministry said Thursday it will expand experimental projects to apply advanced information and communication technologies to military equipment and networks. During a briefing on the "u-experimental project," the ministry reported that it injected 23.5 billion won ($20 million) into 41 projects between 2007 and 2016, and plans to spend more in the coming years. (Yonhap)Last year's major projects included a Radio over Internet Protocol-based mobile command and control system

Feb. 23, 2017

S. Korea begins loudspeaker broadcasts to inform N. Koreans of Kim Jong-nam's murder

South Korea's military began loudspeaker broadcasts over the weekend to inform ordinary North Koreans of the murder of the communist state's leader Kim Jong-un's half brother, military officials said Wednesday. The move aims to underscore the brutality of the dictatorial ruler in Pyongyang, whom Seoul believes masterminded the assassination of Kim Jong-nam at an airport in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur on Feb. 13.In this photo taken on Jan. 8, 2016, a soldier stands before a loudspeaker

Feb. 22, 2017

Korea's top naval officer calls for readiness at inter-Korean border

South Korea's top naval officer on Tuesday called for watertight vigilance against any possible North Korean provocations following the assassination of its leader Kim Jong-un's half-brother Kim Jong-nam.Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Um Hyun-seong visited troops on two border islands of Udo and Yeongpyeong in the West Sea. "The murder of Kim Jong-nam clearly shows the regime's brutality and recklessness. The current security situation on the Korean peninsula and the region is at risk," the flag

Feb. 21, 2017

US military to complete deployment of more than 80 MRAPs to S. Korea this month

The US military will complete its deployment of more than 80 Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles to South Korea by the end of this month, the Eighth US Army said Tuesday, amid the need to prepare for possible instability in North Korea down the road.The US Army began fielding MRAPs -- heavily armored vehicles credited with saving many lives in Iraq and Afghanistan -- to "multiple locations" on the Korean Peninsula in December, Col. Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles, U.S. Army Photo b

Feb. 21, 2017

S. Korean defense ministry accuses NK leader of ordering murder of half brother

Seoul's defense ministry said Tuesday that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un instructed officials to kill his half brother, accusing the country of an unforgivable and inhumane criminal act. Kim Jong-nam, the eldest son of the late North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, was allegedly assassinated by two women under directions from North Korean agents in Malaysia last week. He had spoken out publicly against his family's dynastic control of the reclusive North. (Yonhap)In a report submitted to the Nation

Feb. 21, 2017