Seoul, Washington won't share THAAD radar info with Japan

South Korea and the United States will not share with Japan the information they obtain from the radar of an advanced anti-missile system that will be set up by late 2017, a government source said Monday.Their remarks come amid speculations that the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system to be deployed in South Korea is part of a wider move to integrate the South into the broader missile defense system operated by the U.S. and Japan. "Under the trilateral information-sharing agreement with t

July 25, 2016

Ruling party lawmaker advocates Korea's nuke armament

A former floor leader of the ruling Saenuri Party said Monday that South Korea should also develop nuclear weapons if Pyongyang's provocation continues, adding the country's security is being threatened as U.S. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump openly spoke about the withdrawal of troops from the Korean Peninsula."As Trump is openly calling for the pull out of U.S. troops from South Korea, the country's security is like a candlelight facing a storm," Rep. Won Yoo-chul claimed, adding

July 25, 2016

USFK holds missile defense training

The U.S. Forces Korea carried out a training exercise to transport Patriot missiles from the U.S. military’s Japan base, officials confirmed Friday.The emergency deployment readiness exercise, the first of its kind, is to validate the 35th Air Defense Artillery Brigade’s ability to “integrate external ballistic missile defense assets into Korean theater of operation” -- an area where armed conflict takes place – via the sea. U.S. missile defense assets based in the Far East is to be integrated i

July 22, 2016

[FACT CHECK] THAAD, capacity and limitations

Since the announcement of the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system here, the talk of town has been its possible hazardous effects on the health of those living near the deployment site. The efficacy and capacity of the advanced missile defense system have also been topics of debate, with pundits, military officials and the public discussing what THAAD can and cannot do.THAAD is designed to target ballistic missiles at higher altitudes in their terminal stages, most likely

July 21, 2016

Seongju residents hold rally in Seoul to oppose THAAD deployment

Residents of the southern town of Seongju staged a rally in downtown Seoul, Thursday, to protest against the government's decision to deploy an advanced U.S. missile defense system in their county.Around 2,000 residents gathered in the capital city to express their concerns about the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system.The protesters also wore distinct blue ribbons amid concerns that anti-government activists who are not residents of Seongju would join the related rallie

July 21, 2016

Park defends THAAD deployment plan again

President Park Geun-hye on Thursday defended the recent decision by Seoul and Washington to deploy an advanced U.S. antimissile system here, stressing she won't bow to "criticism and resistance" to protect the nation.Presiding over a session of the National Security Council, Park vowed to devise "all necessary measures" to protect the nation from North Korea's persistent military threats, ordering her government to be fully ready to "strongly retaliate" if provoked.President Park Geun-hye presid

July 21, 2016

Army chief to visit Korean solders in UAE, Lebanon

Korea's Army chief of staff will visit two Korean military contingents in the Middle East from July 21-26 to boost troop morale and meet local military officials to strengthen bilateral ties, the military said Thursday. Army Chief of Staff Gen. Jang Jun-gyu will make a six-day trip to the Dongmyung Unit in Lebanon and the Akh Unit in the United Arab Emirates. There he will not only give pep talks to the troops but also work to expand bilateral cooperation between South Korea and the two countrie

July 21, 2016

Park to convene NSC session over N.K. provocations

President Park Geun-hye will convene a session of the National Security Council on Thursday to check South Korea's security posture following North Korea's missile provocations earlier this week, her office Cheong Wa Dae said."The president will preside over the NSC meeting to check the security situation vis-a-vis North Korea's recent provocations and threats, including the ballistic missile launches (this week)," presidential spokesman Jung Youn-kuk told reporters. President Park Geun-hye spea

July 21, 2016

‘U.S. received no complaints on Guam THAAD’

GUAM -- A U.S. congresswoman told the South Korean media that the military has received no complaints related to the Terminal High Area Altitude Defense system deployed in the U.S. territory of Guam.Madeleine Bordallo, the delegate from Guam to the U.S. House of Representatives, said that the people of Guam have welcomed the THAAD deployment and have not complained at all over having the system there.In an interview with visiting South Korean journalists, she said that threats from North Korea h

July 20, 2016

Local THAAD will not be incorporated into wider U.S.-led MD system: defense chief

Korea's defense minister said Wednesday that the planned deployment of an advanced U.S. anti-missile system is for self-defense and will not be incorporated into the wider U.S. missile defense system. Defense Minister Han Min-koo's remarks made at the National Assembly policy review session come after speculations that the deployment of the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense system in Korea will invariably lead to the country becoming part of the Washington-led MD system which is seen by some a

July 20, 2016

State academy chief refutes concerns of China's economic retaliation over THAAD

 Korea's deployment of the anti-ballistic missile defense system is not likely to result in economic retaliation from China, the head of the state diplomacy academy said Wednesday.Earlier this month, South Korea and the United States officially announced their decision to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense battery in the southern county of Seongju by next year to deal with North Korea's evolving nuclear and missile threats.China opposes the deployment plan, which it believes will sig

July 20, 2016

THAAD row heats up Assembly questioning

An intense debate took place at the National Assembly on Tuesday over the Seoul government’s decision to have the U.S. station its missile defense system here, as the rival parties and the government relayed polarized views on the plan’s potential domestic, military and diplomatic impact.Citing North Korea’s test-firing of three missiles earlier in the day, the administration and the ruling Saenuri Party stressed the need for the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system to safeguard the South

July 19, 2016