Boeing, EADS lower bid prices to meet fighter budget threshold

In a last-ditch effort to win South Korea’s fighter jet project, two of the three bidders ― Boeing and EADS ― offered proposals below the state budget of 8.3 trillion won ($7.2 billion) during the final bidding on Friday, government officials and industry sources said.The third company, Lockheed Martin, selling its F-35 stealth jets through the foreign military sales program, offered a price higher than Seoul’s budget, according to sources, effectively being eliminated from the race to win the c

Aug. 16, 2013

S. Korea held defense drills near Dokdo in June

South Korea conducted naval drills in waters near the country's easternmost islets of Dokdo in late June, a government source said Thursday, as Japan continues to lay claims to the rocky outcroppings.The one-day drill was carried out under a scenario in which other countries approach and illegally land on the islets, the source said. It followed regular maritime drills in the East Sea in the same month.The source did not say why the drill was not made public at the time.South Korea has carried o

Aug. 15, 2013

Seoul approves 4 in-flight tankers, picks drone bidders

The Seoul government on Monday approved a plan to purchase four aerial refueling tankers and picked preferred bidders to develop mid-altitude unmanned aerial vehicles, as part of efforts to better handle North Korea’s military threats.The decision was made at a defense project consultation meeting presided by Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin.Seoul has decided to purchase the in-flight tankers from overseas makers, and will begin its bidding in February 2014 and pick the winner in October of the sam

Aug. 12, 2013

S. Korea, U.S. to conduct military drills Aug. 19-30

South Korean and U.S. forces will launch an annual joint exercise later this month to improve their defense posture against North Korea, the Combined Forces Command said Saturday.The computer-aided Ulchi Freedom Guardian will be held Aug. 19-30, mobilizing about 50,000 South Korean forces and approximately 30,000 U.S. servicemen, including some 3,000 from the U.S. and other bases in the Pacific region, the CFC said in a statement. “Ulchi Freedom Guardian is a critical alliance exercise to sustai

Aug. 11, 2013

S. Korea, U.S. to conduct joint military exercise in Aug. 19-30

South Korean and U.S. forces will launch an annual joint exercise later this month to improve their defense posture against North Korea, the Combined Forces Command (CFC) said Saturday.The computer-aided Ulchi Freedom Guardian (UFG) will be held Aug. 19-30, mobilizing about 50,000 South Korean forces and approximately 30,000 U.S. servicemen, including some 3,000 from the U.S. and other bases in the Pacific region, the CFC said in a statement.  "Ulchi Freedom Guardian is a critical alliance exerc

Aug. 10, 2013

Air Force to acquire 4 aerial refueling tankers by 2019

The South Korean Air Force plans to acquire four aerial refueling tankers between 2017-2019 to extend airborne operations for fighter jets, a government source said Tuesday.Airbus Military’s MRTTA330 and Boeing’s KC-46 are considered as potential candidates for the acquisition, the source said, asking for anonymity as the plan has not been confirmed yet.The Defense Acquisition Program Administration will approve the plan in a meeting presided over by Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin, which is slate

Aug. 6, 2013

Korean troops rescue 11 foreign sailors in Gulf of Aden

The South Korean Navy’s anti-piracy unit in Somalia has rescued 11 foreign sailors who were drifting near the Gulf of Aden, the Joint Chiefs of Staff here said Monday. The sailors were rescued by the Korean troops at around 3:40 p.m. on Sunday (local time) off the coast of Somalia, while drifting on a lifeboat for five days, the JCS said. The sailors ― eight Indians, two Yemenis and one Nepalese ― had abandoned their ship after it had caught fire at sea, it said.After rescuing them from the life

Aug. 5, 2013

Korea to open final bidding for fighter jets next week

South Korea’s arms procurement agency will begin the final round of bidding for a 8.3 trillion won ($7.2 billion) deal to buy 60 fighter jets next week, following a six-week hiatus due to overpriced proposals, a senior official said Monday. The Defense Acquisition Program Administration in early July suspended the bidding for the nation’s largest arms import deal because the bids made by three aerospace giants were higher than the budget approved by the Parliament. Boeing‘s F-15 Silent Eagle, Lo

Aug. 5, 2013

USFK chief nominee says OPCON transfer needed in 2015

The nominee to become the top commander of American troops in South Korea said Tuesday he supports the transition of wartime operational control (OPCON) as scheduled in 2015, despite Seoul's call for some flexibility on the timeline.The stance by Army Lt. Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti reflects a gap between the allies on the appropriate timing for the OPCON transfer in the face of growing threats from nuclear-armed North Korea."I do agree with the timetable. It is a bilateral agreement, Strategic Alli

July 31, 2013

Korea, U.S. to discuss wartime control transfer plan

Senior South Korean and U.S. military officials will meet this week for a high-level defense meeting in Seoul, the defense ministry said Monday, which is widely expected to address another delay in Washington’s planned transition of wartime operational control to Seoul.The Korea-U.S. Integrated Defense Dialogue will be held on Tuesday and Wednesday in Seoul as the two countries are preparing to transfer OPCON to South Korea in December 2015 and draft a new joint military structure. The biannual

July 29, 2013

Korea to resume bidding for fighter jet in August

South Korea’s arms procurement agency said Thursday it will resume accepting bids from three aircraft makers in August to supply 60 fighter jets at a cost of 8.3 trillion won ($7.2 billion), a decision aimed at avoiding further delay of the project.The Defense Acquisition Program Administration announced the decision in a meeting presided over by Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin, three weeks after it temporarily stopped the bidding due to the competitors’ expensive price tags. Boeing’s F-15 Silent

July 25, 2013

Defense Ministry seeks anti-N.K. missile shield

The Defense Ministry submitted a 214.5 trillion won ($192.6 billion) budget request for the 2014-2018 fiscal year to the parliament for deliberation on Thursday, which focuses on beefing up South Korea’s missile program against North Korea’s nuclear and missile weapons.The budget proposal calls for 70.2 trillion won of the total, or 13.7 percent, to be used to purchase a missile shield program, including ballistic and cruise missiles as well as multipurpose commercial satellites and high-altitud

July 25, 2013

Park calls for end to corruption at elite schools

President Park Geun-hye said Tuesday that English-dominant private middle schools should be stripped of their status as specialized institutions if they are found to be involved in admission fraud and other corruption.The remark came after Seoul’s Younghoon International Middle School was found to have accepted unqualified students in exchange for bribes. After a two-month probe, prosecutors indicted nine officials last week, including the chairman of the school’s board.Unlike ordinary middle sc

July 23, 2013

Korea to strengthen fight against bullying

The government said Tuesday it will create programs to prevent school violence and bullying, and put them on the regular curriculum by 2017.The country has been grappling with unrelenting violence at schools, which led to a series of suicides by bullied students in 2011. In the wake of the tragic incidents, the Prime Minister’s Office set up a pan-governmental commission to deal with the issue. Under the second version of its comprehensive countermeasures announced on Tuesday with a greater emph

July 23, 2013

Chun claims seized insurance as inheritance

A confiscated insurance product belonging to the wife of former President Chun Doo-hwan has been purchased with assets inherited from her ancestors, a lawyer representing the couple said Tuesday.As part of efforts to collect a massive fine that the former military dictator owes the state, prosecutors have seized a personal pension insurance policy worth 3 billion won ($2.68 million) that was opened under the name of former first lady Lee Soon-ja.“I came here to pick up a document that can prove

July 23, 2013