U.S. soldier caught after deserting military unit ahead of trial

South Korean police said Thursday they have taken an American soldier into custody five days after he deserted his front-line base ahead of a trial on charges of possessing child pornography.The 25-year-old serviceman was caught in western Seoul at around at 5:30 p.m. by police who chased after him near the area based on his credit card payment information, officials said. The soldier, whose identity was withheld, was serving at U.S. Army's 2nd Infantry Division at Camp Casey in Dongducheon, som

May 19, 2016

S. Korea to pick foreign jet engine by June to equip indigenous combat jets

South Korea will select a foreign jet engine maker to power the country's first indigenously-developed combat aircraft by next month, the defense procurement agency said Wednesday.European jet engine giant Eurojet Turbo GmbH is competing against U.S. rival General Electric (GE) for the South Korean deal to procure engines for its high-profile indigenous fighter jet project, known as the Korean Fighter Experimental, or KF-X.The Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) is currently review

May 18, 2016

Civil rights body orders Air Force to end discriminatory scholarship policy

Korea's civil rights body ordered the Air Force to revise its discriminatory policy that excludes night college students from getting scholarships, adding that the existing system poses major problems for equality.The country's Air Force currently runs a scholarship program that cherry picks college students through their third year and provides them with tuition and flight education courses so they can become pilots after graduating.The program, however, is only open to those enrolled in daytim

May 18, 2016

Camouflage netting over submarine shows N. Korea's pursuit of SLBM program: 38 North

Recent satellite imagery shows camouflage netting over the deck of North Korea's ballistic missile submarine in an indication that the communist nation is forging ahead with its SLBM development, a U.S. website monitoring the North said Tuesday.The May 8 imagery of the Sinpo South Shipyard shows netting has been suspended over the Gorae-class submarine in an sign that the North is continuing to "actively pursue development of both a ballistic missile submarine and submarine-launched ballistic mi

May 18, 2016

U.S. Pacific commander calls for greater trilateral military cooperation with S. Korea, Japan

The U.S. Pacific commander called Tuesday for greater trilateral military cooperation with South Korea and Japan as the three countries plan to hold their first joint missile-tracking exercise to better defend against North Korea.Adm. Harry B. Harris Jr. made the remark during a speech at a security seminar in Washington, saying the North is posing a "real threat" with its pursuit of nuclear weapons and delivery missiles in addition to "hundreds of thousands of rockets within range of Seoul."He

May 18, 2016

Korea to abolish military service exemption to cope with dwindling population

South Korea will phase out the military's special rule that exempts natural science and engineering students from the compulsory military service in a move that takes into account the country's dwindling population, the defense ministry said Tuesday.All able-bodied South Korean men are required to finish a two-year military service as the country has been technically at war with North Korea after the 1950-53 Korean War ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty.Annually about 28,000 students with

May 17, 2016

Korean special forces join regional anti-piracy exercise

Some 330 South Korean special forces troops took part in a regional anti-piracy exercise in the South China Sea region with 17 other countries, the defense ministry said Tuesday.The maritime security exercise, which ran from May 1-12 in the waters between Singapore and Brunei, brought together special army and navy forces from the ASEAN Defense Ministers' Meeting Plus, it said.ADMM-Plus is a gathering of 10 ASEAN nations plus eight dialogue partners including South Korea, Japan, China, Russia an

May 17, 2016

Korean Air Force squadron achieves 150,000 mishap-free flight hours

A South Korean squadron achieved 150,000 mishap-free flight hours over a period of 40 years and seven months, the country's Air Force said Sunday. The Air Force said that its 237 Tactical Control Squadron of the 8th Fighter Wing has achieved 150,000 flight hours without any accident after its KA-1 light attack aircraft landed safely at an Air Force base on Friday. This is the longest accident-free record for a single squadron, the Air Force said. "The record is meaningful because the squadron ha

May 15, 2016

China repeats opposition to U.S. missile shield in S. Korea

A senior Chinese diplomat has repeated his country's opposition to the possible deployment of an advanced U.S. missile defense system in South Korea.South Korea and the U.S. have begun formal talks on the deployment of a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery in South Korea after North Korea conducted its fourth nuclear test and test-launched a long-range rocket earlier this year. Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Li Baodong expressed "firm opposition" to the possible deployment of a TH

May 14, 2016

USFK chief says he expects dialogue with North on armistice

The new commander of the United States military forces in South Korea said Thursday he expects resumption of talks and coordination with North Korea during his first visit to the frontline region separating the two sides.The Joint Security Area (JSA), the inter-Korean truce village where South and North Korean soldiers are standing face-to-face, was the choice for Gen. Vincent Brooks' first field inspection as the top commander of the 28,000-strong U.S. Forces Korea.  "Each time I come back (her

May 12, 2016

Seoul keeping close tabs on Pyongyang nuke test site

South Korea is carefully monitoring North Korea's nuclear test site to detect any signs of an imminent provocation, the Ministry of National Defense said Thursday, reiterating that Pyongyang remains "ready" to detonate another atomic device at any time. "Our stance (that the North can conduct a nuclear test at any time) remains unchanged," ministry spokesman Moon Sang-gyun during a regular press briefing. "(The North) has completed preparations (for a test) at the Punggye-ri test site. We are co

May 12, 2016

Seoul pushes to deploy 100 more K2 tanks against Pyongyang

South Korea's military is pushing to field some 100 additional units of the locally built K2 Black Panther tanks to strengthen frontline defense against North Korea, a military official said Thursday."The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) submitted the request citing the need for 100 or so more K2 tanks in October and the Ministry of National Defense is carrying out a verification of the demand," the military official said. K2 is the South Korean Army's main battle tank (MBT) and has been produced sin

May 12, 2016

Air Force ready to operate locally built planes to train pilots

South Korea's Air Force said Wednesday that it has completed all necessary preparations to use locally built planes for its future pilots, a move that can improve flight training and cut costs. The Air Force Academy rolled out the KT-100 basic trainer at a ceremony held in Cheongju, 137 kilometers southeast of Seoul.The Air Force said the low-wing KT-100 will take over the duty of training cadets from the Russian built T-103.The KT-100 single-prop plane is produced by the country's sole aircraft

May 11, 2016