Govt. considers relocating bust of independence fighter from defense ministry

The government is considering relocating a bust of revered independence fighter Hong Beom-do from outside the defense ministry headquarters due to his past record of collaborating with Soviet communist forces, officials said Monday. Earlier, the defense ministry said it is considering relocating the busts of five Korean independence fighters, including Hong's, from the Korea Military Academy in northern Seoul, sparking protest from opposition parties and the Heritage of Korean Independence, an a

Aug. 28, 2023

Second-stage rocket flight unsuccessful, contrary to NK's claims: Seoul

Contradicting North Korea's assertions, the second-stage flight of the country's space launch vehicle, which was carrying a purported spy satellite, exhibited anomalies during a second launch on Thursday, South Korean Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup said Friday. Lee publicly dismissed Pyongyang's claims that the first and second-stage flights of a satellite launch vehicle Chollima-1, which was carrying the Malligyong-1 military reconnaissance satellite, operated successfully. North

Aug. 25, 2023

Gov't identifies remains of another Korean War soldier

South Korea's military has identified the remains of another soldier killed during the 1950-53 Korean War, more than a decade after their first discovery at a former battle site, the defense ministry said Friday. The ministry's Agency for KIA Recovery and Identification and the 1st Marine Division recovered the remains of Ssg. Hwang Byeong-jun in the coastal county of Yeongdeok, 238 kilometers southeast of Seoul, in 2010 and 2017. KIA stands for killed in action. The agency later ident

Aug. 25, 2023

Yoon visits CP Tango to inspect Korea-US drill

President Yoon Suk Yeol visited Command Post Theater Air Naval Ground Operations, known as CP Tango, to inspect the situation of the Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises on the third day of the joint South Korea-US military drill on Wednesday. During a briefing, Yoon received a report on the exercise situation. "Since the establishment of the ROK-US Combined Forces Command in 1978, CP Tango has served as the brain directing the military forces of both nations on land, sea and air," Yoon sa

Aug. 23, 2023

S. Korean military denies NK report on 'strategic' cruise missile drills

The South Korean military on Monday refuted a belated report from North Korean state media that "strategic cruise missiles" were fired from a newly revealed naval corvette as part of its live-fire drills. Earlier in the morning, North Korean state media reported that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un had inspected the Guards 2nd Surface Ship Flotilla of the East Sea Fleet of the Navy of the Korean People's Army. Without elaborating on the date, the report also mentioned his observat

Aug. 21, 2023

S. Korea, US resume in-person talks on Korean War troop remains excavation

South Korea and the United States have held an in-person meeting on cooperation in excavating the remains of troops killed in the 1950-53 Korean War, following a four-year hiatus caused by COVID-19, Seoul's defense ministry said Wednesday. Officials from the ministry's Agency for KIA Recovery and Identification and the Pentagon's Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency met at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware on Tuesday. KIA stands for killed in action, while POW and MIA are short for pr

Aug. 16, 2023

S. Korea, UAE hold combined high-tech military training

South Korea and the United Arab Emirates were staging combined high-tech military drills, Seoul's Army said Wednesday, amid efforts to bolster bilateral military cooperation. The exercise is underway at the Korea Combat Training Center, a facility employing cutting-edge technologies for realistic ground drills, in Inje, 165 kilometers east of Seoul, from Aug. 7-18, according to the armed service. The drills mobilized some 2,500 troops to the facility, including a platoon of the UAE's a

Aug. 16, 2023

S. Korean Navy to join multinational Indo-Pacific humanitarian exercise

The South Korean Navy will participate in an annual multinational humanitarian assistance exercise in the Indo-Pacific later this month to sharpen combined operational capabilities, the armed service said Wednesday. It plans to send its Cheonjabong landing ship as well as 180 personnel, including Marines, to the Pacific Partnership exercise, which began on Aug. 9 and will run through Nov. 21. Its contingent is set to join parts of the exercise in the Philippines and Malaysia from Aug. 21-Sept. 1

Aug. 16, 2023

S. Korea, US to stage ‘realistic, tough’ military exercise against NK threats

South Korea and the United States are set to conduct "tough" yet defense-oriented military exercises simulating real-life scenarios, with the goal to strengthen the alliance's defense posture and ability to respond to the escalating missile and nuclear threats posed by North Korea. The 11-day computer-simulated "Ulchi Freedom Shield" exercise is planned for Aug. 21-31, including a weekend pause on Aug. 26 and 27, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff and US Forces Kor

Aug. 14, 2023

S. Korea to honor 100 independence fighters on Liberation Day

South Korea will confer state medals and awards on 100 late independence fighters to honor their sacrifices in the resistance movement against Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule over the Korean Peninsula, the veterans ministry said Monday. The independence fighters will be awarded with decorations posthumously Tuesday when the country commemorates the 78th anniversary of Liberation Day, according to the ministry. Those to be awarded include Frank Earl Cranston Williams, an American missionary wh

Aug. 14, 2023

Last surviving Korean independence fighter in Japan to return home

The last surviving Korean independence fighter living in Japan will return home early next week, Seoul's veterans ministry said Thursday, just days before South Korea marks the anniversary of liberation from Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule. Oh Seong-gyu will arrive in South Korea on Sunday, accompanied by Veterans Minister Park Min-shik, after expressing his wishes to reside in his home country to the ministry following the death of his wife in 2018. Oh will undergo a medical examination

Aug. 10, 2023

UN rights envoy voices concern over S. Korea as Myanmar ambassador attended arms event

A United Nations rights envoy has expressed concern over the South Korean government as it allowed the Myanmar ambassador to Seoul to attend an event promoting weapons systems in May, according to the envoy's letter on Wednesday. Thomas Andrews, the special rapporteur on the human rights situation in Myanmar, made the remarks over Myanmar Ambassador Thant Sin's attendance at the event in Pocheon, 52 kilometers northeast of Seoul, on May 2 that demonstrated tanks and other weapons to fo

Aug. 9, 2023

Mission should continue to uncover truth behind 39,000 military deaths: panel head

The South Korean government must continue its investigation into around 39,000 incidents where the cause of death during military service remains unclear and conclusively determine whether these individuals died in the line of duty, the chairman of a presidential committee looking into the issue said Wednesday. "Even now, there are individuals who passed away while serving in the military and have not received proper recognition and benefits. The reality is that there are still around 39,00

Aug. 2, 2023

Remains of Korean independence fighter, wife to reunite after century apart

The remains of revered Korean independence fighter Choi Jae-hyung and his wife will be symbolically reunited in South Korea, having been separated across Russia and Kyrgyzstan for over a century. The reunion comes more than 100 years after Choi was tragically shot dead by the imperial Japanese army. Choi's body was hidden by the Japanese military and has not been found, so soil from where he died will be used instead. On Aug. 11, South Korea will bring soil from the place where Choi is thou

Aug. 1, 2023

S. Korean defense minister in Uzbekistan for arms cooperation

The South Korean defense minister has embarked on his inaugural trip to Uzbekistan with a significant goal of leveling up defense and arms industrial cooperation and pioneering the new arms sales market in Central Asia. Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup is scheduled to visit Uzbekistan, a "special strategic partner and key friendly country in Central Asia," from Monday to Thursday, South Korea's Defense Ministry announced Monday. Lee's trip to Uzbekistan holds the significance of

July 31, 2023

Late Marine Corps chief named Korean War hero of the month

South Korea's veterans ministry has chosen a late Marine Corps commander as next month's Korean War hero for his leadership in front-line combat operations during the 1950-53 conflict, officials said Monday. The late Lt. Gen. Kim Sung-eun is credited with successfully leading key wartime missions, including retaking a hill held by North Koreans in Changwon, about 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul, on Aug. 6, 1950, to stall the enemy's advance. He also successfully led a surprise a

July 31, 2023

S. Korea, US stage joint anti-submarine drills involving nuclear-powered sub

South Korea and the United States staged combined anti-submarine drills, involving a US nuclear-powered submarine, in waters south of the Korean Peninsula on Saturday, Seoul's Navy said, amid joint efforts to reinforce readiness against North Korean military threats. The exercise took place in waters south of the southern island of Jeju, mobilizing the South's ROKS Yulgok Yi I Aegis-equipped destroyer, the ROKS Yi Sun-sin submarine and the US' USS Annapolis submarine, according

July 29, 2023

N. Korea, flanked by Russia and China, sends explicit warning to US

North Korea issued an explicit and firm warning that any use of nuclear weapons by the United States would result in the country's destruction. The warning was made during a military parade held on the anniversary of the signing of the Korean War armistice and was attended by high-level delegations from China and Russia. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un attended the highly choreographed military parade in Pyongyang to celebrate July 27, which is labeled by the country as the "Day of Vic

July 28, 2023

Remains of 7 S. Korean troops killed during Korean War return home

The remains of seven South Korean soldiers killed in the 1950-53 Korean War returned home from the United States on Wednesday, after they were initially thought to be US war dead and sent to America. A ceremony marking the remains' return took place at Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, just south of Seoul, after a South Korean Air Force KC-330 transport aircraft carrying the remains arrived from Hawaii. The latest sets of remains were among those excavated in South and North Korea and sent to the

July 26, 2023

South Korean POWs still held in NK, 70 years after armistice

ICHEON, Gyeonggi Province --- Yoo Young-bok, 93, recalls when he, then a 23-year-old South Korean rifle soldier, was captured by the Chinese People's Liberation Army during the Geumhwa area battle, in Gangwon Province in June 1953, a month before the Armistice Agreement was signed to cease the Korean War. Upon his capture, he was sent to a prisoner-of-war camp in Sungho-ri, Kangdong County, South Pyongan Province, the following month. Little did he know at that moment that he would become a

July 26, 2023