S. Korean, US Army troops to stage combined drills in California desert next month

South Korean and US Army troops will stage a joint four-week exercise in a desert in California next month, officials said Wednesday, as the allies seek to bolster their combined operational capabilities. Some 150 personnel, including those from the 7th Maneuver Corps' air assault unit and the Capital Mechanized Infantry Division, will join the drills set to take place at the US National Training Center in the Mojave Desert in California from Aug. 2 to 31, according to the South Korean Army

July 5, 2023

[Contribution] Uzbekistan's legal and institutional framework: focus on humanization

The aim of ongoing reforms in our country is to ensure guarantees of a happy and prosperous life. During the short period of time, a large-scale work has been carried out in judicial and legal spheres. In particular, the Decree "on measures for further reforming the judicial and legal system, strengthening the guarantees of reliable protection of citizens' rights and freedoms" has been adopted. As priority directions of state policy, ensuring actual independence of a judicial po

July 4, 2023

Government begins process to deposit forced labor compensation for 4 victims with court

South Korea's government began a process to deposit compensation for four victims of forced labor under Japan's 1910-1945 colonization who have rejected the government's third-party reimbursement plan with a court, Seoul's foreign ministry said Monday. Seeking to improve ties with Japan, South Korea announced the plan in March to compensate Korean victims of Japanese wartime forced labor on its own without asking for contributions from Japanese firms. According to the ministr

July 3, 2023

S. Korea, US hold annual defense ICT talks

Defense officials of South Korea and the United States held their annual meeting on bilateral security cooperation in the area of information and communication technologies in Hawaii earlier this week, Seoul's defense ministry said Friday. The third session of the South Korea-US ICT Cooperation Committee took place Thursday. Kang Wan-gu, chief of planning and coordination at the ministry, and John Sherman, the Pentagon's chief information officer, led the session. The two sides exchang

June 30, 2023

S. Korea to launch upgraded missile defense operations center

South Korea's Air Force is set Friday to open an upgraded missile defense operations center in a city just south of Seoul, officials said, in yet another move to strengthen the nation's anti-missile shield against growing North Korean threats. The KAMD Operations Center will open in Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, some 60 kilometers south of Seoul, following a capability upgrade designed to respond "more swiftly and effectively" to ballistic missile threats, according to the Air

June 30, 2023

S. Korea completes deployment of utility helicopter to Marine Corps

South Korea has completed the deployment of a homegrown utility helicopter to the Marine Corps, the state arms procurement agency said Thursday, as part of efforts to bolster the armed service's operational capabilities. The armed service has received all planned units of the MUH-1 Marineon helicopter, a variant of the KUH-1 Surion helicopter developed by Korea Aerospace Industries Ltd., since deployment first began in 2016, according to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration. It di

June 29, 2023

S. Korean military ship, personnel leave to join multinational exercise in Australia

A South Korean warship carrying some 500 personnel departed Wednesday for Australia to participate in a biennial multinational maritime exercise set to begin next month, the Navy said. The 14,500-ton ROKS Marado amphibious landing ship left a military port in Busan, 320 kilometers southeast of Seoul, to join the Talisman Sabre exercise slated to take place in a northeastern region of Australia from July 22-Aug. 4. Jointly hosted by the United States and Australia, this year's edition of the

June 28, 2023

US is working with S. Korea, Japan to deter N. Korean aggression: Pentagon

The United States is working with allies and partners, namely South Korea and Japan, to deter potential aggression from North Korea, a Pentagon spokesperson said Tuesday, after Pyongyang warned that the Korean Peninsula is on the "brink of a nuclear war." Department of Defense spokesperson Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder noted the North may conduct a nuclear test to further its escalation. "So rhetoric aside, again, our focus is on working with our allies and our partners in the region to en

June 28, 2023

Recruits at military boot camps to be allowed to use mobile phones from next month

South Korea's military manpower agency said Tuesday that new recruits at boot camps will be able to use mobile phones for one hour on weekends and holidays starting from July 3. The change is part of moves to allow enlisted troops to use mobile phones. In May, the defense ministry said it plans to expand a trial program allowing enlisted troops to use mobile phones on their bases later this year. From July through December, the program will be applied to some 60,000 enlistees, around 20 per

June 27, 2023

S. Korea enacts drone operation law against NK infiltration

South Korea enacted a new law on Tuesday to establish a drone operations command aimed at conducting both defensive and offensive missions, including striking North Korean drones infiltrating South Korean airspace. The law was proclaimed six months after President Yoon Suk Yeol's order to establish a drone operations command. The order was in response to an incident in which five North Korean drones intruded South Korean airspace, and flew over Seoul and the western inter-Korean border area

June 27, 2023

S. Korea approves plan to upgrade K9 howitzers

South Korea's defense authorities on Monday endorsed a plan to upgrade the homegrown K9 self-propelled howitzer to bolster its strike capabilities, the state arms procurement agency said. The Defense Project Promotion Committee gave the nod to the 2.36 trillion-won ($1.81 billion) basic plan for the second upgrade project of the K9 scheduled to run through 2027, according to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration. The "Block-I" upgrade project seeks to automate the ammunit

June 26, 2023

Women to serve on Korean submarines from 2024

South Korea's Navy will deploy women officers aboard 3,000-ton submarines for the first time starting next year, breaking the longstanding glass ceiling within the country's military after 31 years since the Navy commissioned its first-ever Jang Bogo submarine in 1993. Seven non-commissioned female officers were selected earlier this month out of a pool of 22 applicants to serve on submarines, the Navy announced Monday. The Navy had initially planned to select four non-commissioned fem

June 26, 2023

S. Korea calls for peace through strength on 73rd Korean War anniversary

South Korea's prime minister on Sunday called for the establishment of genuine peace by further strengthening the military, saying that North Korea's persistent missile and nuclear threats are driven by an outdated mindset and perceptions stemming from the Korean War. Prime Minister Han Duck-soo delivered a speech during a ceremony commemorating the 73rd anniversary of the start of the Korean War on June 25. The Korean War began 73 years ago in 1950 when North Korea launched a sudden a

June 25, 2023

S. Korea 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, about 13 years after their discovery near the inter-Korean border, the defense ministry said Friday. The ministry's Agency for KIA Recovery and Identification confirmed the remains belonged to Pfc. Kim Hyeon-taek, after conducting a DNA analysis using a sample from his daughter. KIA stands for "killed in action." The agency first discovered part of his remains in Cheorwo

June 23, 2023

[Herald Interview] Living witness recounts forging of US, South Korea's 'blood alliance'

At the age of 16, Lee In-bum made his way to Gangneung, Gangwon Province, in July 1951 amid the chaos of the Korean War, which had broken out the year before and torn the nation into pieces. Although he was too young to enlist officially in the South Korean military, he was set on finding a way to help defend his homeland against the forces of North Korea and China. Through his service, the war veteran said he bore witness to the making of the "blood alliance" between South Korea and t

June 22, 2023

S. Korea, NATO ink arrangement to begin recognition process for military airworthiness certification

South Korea and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization have signed an arrangement to launch the mutual recognition process for military airworthiness certification, Seoul's defense procurement agency said Thursday. Representatives from Korea's Defense Acquisition Program Administration and the NATO Aviation Committee inked it at NATO headquarters in Brussels on Wednesday, in a move to strengthen bilateral cooperation on air safety. Airworthiness is a key measure of a plane's suita

June 22, 2023

[From the Scene] Polish pilots on transition from flying Soviet jets to S. Korea's FA-50

YECHEON, North Gyeongsang Province — A team of Polish pilots is bidding farewell to its Soviet-era MiG-29 fighter jets. They are instead transitioning to South Korea's FA-50 light combat aircraft, with training support and guidance from the South Korean Air Force. Two groups, each comprising four Polish pilots, have undergone monthslong training in Korea. The primary aim of this training is to provide them with the essential skills and knowledge required to operate the FA-50 light com

June 21, 2023

S. Korea completes environmental assessment of US THAAD missile defense base

South Korea completed an environmental impact assessment of a US THAAD missile defense unit in a southern county Wednesday, the defense and environment ministries said, clearing the way for its full-fledged deployment. The Yoon Suk Yeol administration has been pushing for the "normalization" of the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense battery, which was installed in Seongju, 214 kilometers southeast of Seoul, in 2017, but has held the status of a "temporary" installation pendi

June 21, 2023

S. Korea crafts aggressive posture against potential N. Korean drone infiltrations: source

The South Korean military has adopted an aggressive counter-drone operational principle, under which a single North Korean drone infiltration would prompt it to send 10 or more unmanned aerial vehicles into Pyongyang, a source said Tuesday. The measure is part of Seoul's efforts to beef up air defenses after five North Korean drones intruded across the inter-Korean border in December last year, with one of them having penetrated a no-fly zone close to Seoul's presidential office. The C

June 20, 2023

PM urges full preparations for launching drone operations command

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo on Tuesday called on the military to make full preparations for a successful launch of its drone operations command later this year to respond "effectively and overwhelmingly" to North Korean drone provocations. Han made the remarks while presiding over a weekly Cabinet meeting during which a bill on the establishment of the drone operations command was approved. He asked the defense ministry and the Joint Chiefs of Staff to "make every effort to ensure

June 20, 2023