Calls in Korea for nuclear weapons reflect views U.S. security guarantees are fragile: CRS report

Renewed calls in South Korea for the redeployment of U.S. tactical nuclear weapons to the country or its own nuclear armament reflect concerns that U.S. security guarantees are "fragile," a U.S. congressional report said.The North's fourth nuclear test in January and its long-range rocket launch in February have led some leading members of South Korea's ruling party to make the case for nuclear armament, arguing that it makes no sense to rely on the U.S. "nuclear umbrella" as the North's nuclear

April 11, 2016

Army chief to visit Japan for military talks

South Korea's Army chief will visit Japan later in the month to hold talks with his counterpart on ways to expand bilateral cooperation, the military said Sunday.The Army said its Chief of Staff Gen. Jang Jun-gyu will be in Japan on April 17 and 18 and hold a meeting with Gen. Kiyofumi Iwata, the head of Japan's Ground Self-Defense Force.The talks will be the first of their kind since January 2008, when a meeting took place between the heads of South Korea's and Japan's ground forces in Tokyo."J

April 10, 2016

S. Korea's Army chief to visit Japan for military talks

South Korea's Army chief will visit Japan later in the month to hold talks with his counterpart on ways to expand bilateral cooperation, the military said Sunday.The Army said its Chief of Staff Gen. Jang Jun-gyu will be in Japan on April 17 and 18 and hold a meeting with Gen. Kiyofumi Iwata, the head of Japan's Ground Self-Defense Force.The talks will be the first of their kind since January 2008, when a meeting took place between the heads of South Korea's and Japan's ground forces in Tokyo."J

April 10, 2016

Troops placed on standby amid N. Korean provocation to be given more leave

South Korean troops that have been placed on emergency standby in the face of heightened provocations from North Korea will be given more compensatory leave, the ministry said Sunday, The move comes as Pyongyang's nuclear test and firing off of missiles this year caused Seoul to place much of its forces in a heightened state of readiness, causing troop fatigue.In particular, fatigue felt by frontline unit troops that must respond immediately to North Korean military provocations is very high, wh

April 10, 2016

Defense ministry opts not to disclose information on THAAD deployment

The government has rejected calls to disclose information on the possible deployment of an advanced missile defense system to South Korea, a civic group said Thursday.The Ministry of National Defense dismissed the information disclosure request filed by the Lawyers for a Democratic Society last month, the group said.It had asked the ministry to open the terms of reference it signed with its U.S. counterpart and clarify whether the agreement was a treaty, according to the association.In the after

April 7, 2016

Korea in talks to use U.S. military GPS

South Korea is in talks with the United States to win permission to use the country's military Global Positioning System  as it moves to develop guided munitions that can better deal with Pyongyang's growing artillery threat, the government said Thursday.The military procurement agency said it is seeking to finish the development of the new weapon system with a range of 120 kilometers by 2018, and it will use the U.S. military's GPS which is immune to jamming attempts. The military plans to depl

April 7, 2016

Air Force conducting 5-day pilot rescue drill

The Air Force is conducting a five-day exercise aimed at rescuing pilots who are stranded deep inside enemy territory, by mobilizing two search and rescue helicopters, the military said Thursday.The rescue drill began its five-day run on Monday and will run till Friday at Yeongwol and Danyang, both some 200 kilometers southeast of Seoul, according to the Air Force. The exercise was based on a simulation of rescuing pilots who have been forced to eject from their aircraft in hostile territories d

April 7, 2016

Korea in debate about developing own nuclear weapons: CRS report

South Korea is in a debate about developing its own nuclear weapons, despite the United States' assurances to extend its "nuclear umbrella" to protect the Asian ally, a congressional report said Tuesday.The Congressional Research Service also said in the report on U.S.-South Korea relations that such a move by the South could result in a series of negative consequences, including economic sanctions on Seoul and a nuclear arms race in the region."In the wake of North Korea's recent nuclear weapon

April 6, 2016

Seoul conducts joint air attack exercise with U.S.

South Korea and the United States carried out a joint air attack exercise on Tuesday as part of a series of drills intended to test their combat readiness to counter potential North Korean aggression.The joint drill mobilized the South Korean Air Force's FA-50 light attack aircraft and the U.S. Marine Corps' FA-18C Hornet fighter jet, the Air Force here said in a statement.The U.S. Marine Corps' Marine Aircraft Group 12 made a trial sortie from the base of the Air Force's 16th Fighter Wing locat

April 5, 2016

Navy launches new missile-armed submarine

South Korea's Navy on Tuesday launched its seventh Son Won-il class submarine that is capable of firing off guided missiles, and can contribute to the country's overall military readiness.The 1,800-ton diesel-electric submarine incorporates the latest technology and possesses a formidable weapons system that can enhance the fleet's fighting capability.The launch ceremony was held at Hyundai Heavy Industries'dockyard in Ulsan, some 400 kilometers southeast of Seoul, and attended by Chief of Naval

April 5, 2016

Korea to test new recon planes in U.S. this week

South Korea plans to conduct a flight test of two new reconnaissance planes in the United States this week, which can help the country better detect signs of North Korean missile launches and other threats, officials said Monday. The planes, part of the enhanced Baekdu program, will undergo their first flight tests in an airfield in Texas later this week, according to officials at the Defense Acquisition Program Administration.The test is intended to examine the operability of the aircraft with

April 4, 2016

Korea partly resumes flight of F-16 jets following recent crash

South Korea partly resumed flights of its F-16 fighter jets on Monday after the crash of one plane led to a fleetwide grounding, the Air Force said.The U.S.-made combat aircraft plunged into an uninhabited hill in the southeast town of Cheongsong, some 320 kilometers southeast of Seoul on Wednesday, after its engine failed during a training mission. The two pilots aboard the airplane safely ejected. Following the accident, the Air Force suspended the flight of some 30 F-16 units, as well as 130

April 4, 2016

Army conducts artillery exercise along east coast amid North Korean threats

South Korea's Army conducted a live-fire artillery exercise along the east coast on Monday amid continuous threats of attacks and missile and artillery launches by North Korea.The large-scale naval firing drill along the East Sea mobilized artillery units belonging to the three Army corps stationed along the eastern front of the inter-Korean border, according to the military. The drill simulated an artillery counter-attack against a supposed North Korean naval provocation, the Army noted.About 2

April 4, 2016

Korea, Japan practice sharing info during missile defense drill

South Korea and Japan practiced sharing information during an international missile defense exercise led by the United States, bolstering their defense ties in response to growing threats from North Korea, sources said Sunday.The two countries paired up in the drill, called Nimble Titan 16, where some 20 countries participated to practice information sharing, offense operations and anticipatory self-defense.The five-day training, which took place in February, was based on a mock submarine-launch

April 3, 2016