Bizman nabbed for illegally obtaining military secrets

A 49-year-old businessman has been arrested on charges of illegally securing classified documents about the country's next-generation submarine project, prosectors said Friday.  The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office said the head of a South Korean-German defense company, surnamed Park, received the documents from an executive of another defense contractor, surnamed Kim, at unspecified dates.  Kim is currently standing trial over allegations that between 2008 and June this year he collec

Nov. 7, 2014

S. Korea to start annual defense drill next week

South Korea's military will kick off its annual nationwide war exercise scrambling all branches of service next week to bolster its defense posture against potential North Korean threats, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said Friday.  This year's 12-day Hoguk Exercise will kick off on Monday, involving the Army, Navy, Air Force and the Marine Corps, according to the JCS.  The war drill will focus on enhancing the military branches' joint combat capabilities on land as well as in the air and on th

Nov. 7, 2014

U.S. approves possible sale of PAC-3 interceptor missiles to S. Korea

The U.S. government has approved a possible sale to South Korea of PAC-3 interceptor missiles and related equipment for an estimated cost of US$1.405 billion, a U.S.defense agency said.   The State Department has approved South Korea's request that 136 PAC-3 missiles be sold to the Asian ally, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) said in a statement.   The agency said it delivered the required certification notifying Congress of the sale Wednesday.   The estimated cost is $1.405 billio

Nov. 7, 2014

U.S. to disband armored unit in South Korea

The United States has decided to disband an armored brigade combat team under its 2nd Infantry Division in South Korea and bring in a new 4,600-strong rotational combat unit, as part of its global troop rotational scheme, the U.S. Forces Korea said Thursday.The 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, currently based in Camp Casey in Dongducheon, north of Seoul, is to be “deactivated” in June 2015 when the rotational team arrives here to operate as part of the 28,500-strong USFK. The new troops are to o

Nov. 7, 2014

OPCON delay needed until N. Korea drops nuke plan: S. Korean PM

South Korea should delay the reassumption of wartime troop control from the United States until it is capable of successfully deterring North Korea's nuclear ambitions, Seoul's prime minister said Monday.   Last month, Seoul and Washington agreed to delay giving South Korea wartime operational control (OPCON) of its troops as the nation faces evolving nuclear and missile threats from the communist country. The allies expect the handover to take place in the mid-2020s when Seoul is expected to be

Nov. 3, 2014

Citizens to protest deal to keep U.S. military unit in Dongducheon

Citizens of Dongducheon, north of Seoul, will hold a mass rally this week to protest a recent South Korea-U.S. deal to retain an American artillery brigade in the city, a local civic group said Sunday.Last month, Seoul and Washington agreed to retain the 210th Fires Brigade under the 2nd Infantry Division in Dongducheon near the tense inter-Korean border until "the mid-2020s" to bolster deterrence against North Korea.A 2004 bilateral deal had called for relocating the U.S. military unit to a new

Nov. 2, 2014

State audit agency inspects military's research of weapons systems

The state auditing agency has begun an inspection of the military's research of weapons systems in a bid to ensure its transparency, officials said Sunday.The inspection by the Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) covers research and development projects carried out by the Ministry of National Defense, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration and its affiliates, including the Agency for Defense Development, on weapons systems used by the army, navy and air force, according to the officials

Nov. 2, 2014

Army sergeant gets 45-year jail term for comrade's death

A military court sentenced an Army sergeant to 45 years behind bars on Thursday for abusing and beating his junior comrade to death.The sergeant, identified only by his surname Lee, was convicted of killing the 23-year-old Army private first class, surnamed Yoon, after brutally abusing him at their frontline unit on the east coast. In April, Yoon died after allegedly being hit in his chest by six of his colleagues while eating snacks. The assault caused a piece of food to obstruct his airway, le

Oct. 30, 2014

N. Korea attempts to hack into S. Koreans’ smartphones: NIS

North Korea attempted to hack into South Koreans’ smartphones by spreading malicious applications online, possibly infecting more than 20,000 smartphones, Seoul’s spy agency said Wednesday.The malicious applications, disguised as games, were spread on South Korean websites between May 19 and Sept. 16, according to a report submitted to the parliamentary intelligence committee by the National Intelligence Service.Although the NIS did not report any actual damage, it estimated that more than 20,00

Oct. 29, 2014

Cabinet likely to OK extension of troop deployment in South Sudan, Lebanon

South Korea's Cabinet is likely to approve bills extending the country's troop deployment in Sudan and Lebanon by another year, an official said Tuesday.The move, if endorsed by the parliament, will allow South Korean troops to carry out their missions until the end of 2015, the official said. Currently, their missions are set to expire Dec. 31.Last year, South Korea deployed about 270 troops, mostly engineers and medics, to South Sudan under the wing of the United Nations Mission to help the ne

Oct. 28, 2014