S. Korea boosts defense posture after warship sinking

"Remember the warship Cheonan!"Under the simple but desperate slogan, the South Korean Navy has significantly bolstered its underwater capabilities and combat readiness since North Korea's deadly sinking of the corvette five years ago. On March 26, 2010, the 1,200-ton warship sank while on a training mission in the Yellow Sea, killing 46 out of the 104 sailors on board. A South Korean-led international investigation concluded that a North Korean submarine torpedoed the ship, though Pyongyang has

March 26, 2015

U.S. to increase multi-rocket system troops in S. Korea

The United States plans to send an additional multiple launch rocket system battalion to South Korea in May to better deter North Korea's artillery threats, U.S. Forces Korea said Saturday.The U.S. secretary of defense "approved the nine-month rotation of a Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) battalion to South Korea to provide unique counter-fire capabilities supporting its defense," the 8th Army said in a press release.The first rotational battalion will join the 210th Field Artillery Brigade

March 21, 2015

Minesweepers' deployment faces delay due to faulty parts

South Korea's deployment of minesweepers is expected to be delayed by at least a year as their key parts fail to meet the military's requirements, the procurement agency said Friday.  Under the 489.2 billion won ($435.6 million) project launched in 2010, South Korea has been pushing to acquire three Minesweeper Hunters for the Navy to better counter threats posed by naval mines. The vessels were supposed to be deployed from August 2015 to 2019.  After a four-week inspection of the project, the D

March 20, 2015

Top U.S. military officer to visit S. Korea next week

The top U.S. military officer will visit South Korea next week for talks with his counterpart on boosting the bilateral alliance, Seoul officials said Friday, amid keen attention on whether the two will discuss the possible deployment of an advanced U.S. missile-defense system here.     Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, is scheduled to arrive Thursday for a three-day stay, during which he plans to hold talks with South Korea's JCS chairman, Adm. Choi Yun-hee, and m

March 20, 2015

U.S. commander says he believes N. Korea already miniaturized some nuclear weapons

The United States believes North Korea has already succeeded in making some nuclear weapons small enough to fit atop missiles, a top American military official said Thursday.  "We know North Korea's ambitions in terms of their demonstrated cyber, their ambitions for nuclear weapons, the tests that have already occurred. And we think they already miniaturized some of this capability," Adm. Cecil Haney, commander of the U.S. Strategic Command, said during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing.

March 20, 2015

USFK commander calls for 'layered' missile defense capability

South Korea and the U.S. should build a "layered" ballistic missile defense capability, the commander of U.S. Forces Korea said, in what could be seen as a call for deploying the THAAD system designed to intercept incoming missiles at high altitudes.  Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti made the remark in a written testimony submitted Wednesday to the House appropriations subcommittee on defense amid intensifying debates in South Korea about whether to accept a U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense batte

March 20, 2015

THAAD ruckus reveals Cold War mentality

The heated debate over the possible deployment of an advanced U.S. missile defense battery to the peninsula is spawning concerns that the Cold War-era mentality still lives on here and will complicate Seoul’s strategic approaches to security issues.Since the issue surrounding the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense system surfaced last year, a flurry of reports and expert analyses have depicted it as a matter of Seoul’s choice between the U.S. and China, as if the two economically interdependent

March 19, 2015

Admiral under probe for sexual harassment

The Navy launched an investigation on Thursday into allegations that a three-star commander sexually harassed caddies at a golf course inside a naval unit at Jinhae, South Gyeongsang Province, last year.The commander, whose identity was withheld, is purported to have demanded that the caddies sing songs and dance on the golf course. He admitted he asked them to sing, but denied that they were asked to dance.The allegations are the latest in a series of sexual assault cases that has rattled the m

March 19, 2015

S. Korea, U.S. Marines hold large-scale joint drill

Marines of South Korea and the United States are staging a large-scale command post exercise on and around the Korean Peninsula to check and further boost their joint combat capabilities, the Marine Corps here said Thursday.Some 500 South Korean Marines and 1,700 American troops from III Marine Expeditionary Force (III MEF) stationed in Okinawa, Japan, began their exercise on Wednesday, which is to be staged until Sunday, in the southeastern city of Pohang, the city of Osan, just south of Seoul,

March 19, 2015

Allies may discuss THAAD in April

Seoul and Washington are expected to discuss the U.S.’ possible deployment of an advanced missile defense asset to the peninsula at their regular high-level defense talks in Washington, slated for mid-April, a government source said Wednesday.The allies will hold the two-day Korea-U.S. Integrated Defense Dialogue next month to discuss bilateral security issues, possibly including the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense system.“At the KIDD meeting, Seoul and Washington will discuss all pending se

March 18, 2015

Parties at odds over gov't stance on THAAD

Rival parties expressed strong disagreement Wednesday over whether the government made the right move in asserting its control over deciding whether to deploy a U.S. anti-missile defense system in South Korea.  On Tuesday, South Korea's defense ministry warned neighboring nations against trying to influence Seoul's security policy, saying it "will make a decision based upon our own judgment after putting security interests before anything else."  The remarks were widely seen as a response to Chi

March 18, 2015

S. Korea, U.S. to discuss THAAD at April defense talks: sources

South Korea and the United States are expected to discuss the possible deployment of a U.S. advanced missile-defense system on South Korean soil at their high-level defense talks next month, sources here said Wednesday.  The U.S. has expressed its will to deploy a Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense battery on the peninsula, while the allies have said there have been neither consultations nor a decision on the matter.  "All pending issues between the two sides will likely be discussed during the

March 18, 2015

Seoul fires back at China’s opposition to THAAD

Seoul’s Defense Ministry expressed discomfort over Beijing’s repeated opposition to the U.S.’ possible deployment of an advanced missile defense asset to the peninsula on Tuesday, escalating tension with China over the sensitive security issue.“A neighboring country can have its own position about the U.S. Forces Korea’s deployment of THAAD (Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense system),” Ministry spokesperson Kim Min-seok told reporters during a press briefing. “But it should not attempt to exert

March 17, 2015

U.S. Navy seeks continued cooperation with S. Korea

The U.S. Navy is seeking to bolster cooperation with South Korea and other long-standing Asian allies to cope with security challenges and threats, including North Korea's nuclear and missile programs, a strategy report showed Monday.  In the report, titled "A Cooperative Strategy for 21st Century Seapower," the Navy named South Korea and five other Asian allies -- Australia, Japan, New Zealand, the Philippines and Thailand -- as strategic interest partners in the region.   The Navy is also tryi

March 17, 2015