Ministry virtually rejects consideration for SM-3

The Defense Ministry has virtually rejected the Navy’s request to consider introducing the Standard Missile-3 mid-course interceptors, multiple sources privy to the issue told The Korea Herald on Monday.The Navy unofficially requested recently that the ministry weigh the option of purchasing the missiles to enhance the strategic value of its Aegis-equipped destroyers and better handle North Korea’s escalating missile threats. The ministry has made no response in an apparent rejection of the requ

May 6, 2013

Seoul receives U.S. approval for Global Hawk buy

Washington has sent a “letter of acceptance” for Seoul’s project to buy Global Hawk spy drones following congressional approval for the sale, Seoul officials said Thursday.“The LOA has been delivered to us for the sale of Global Hawks and we are going over it now,” an official at the Defense Acquisition Program Administration said, declining to be named.Seoul made the purchase request to the U.S. in December 2005 and the congressional approval had been delayed for the sale of the high-flying, lo

May 2, 2013

Local arms brokerage firm under investigation

The Defense Security Command is investigating a former weapons broker for the U.S. firm Boeing on suspicion that it had leaked classified military intelligence regarding Seoul’s projects to acquire attack helicopters and fighter jets.The Korean firm in question is suspected of leaking secrets in connection with the required operational capability, or ROC, of the military aircraft Seoul has sought to purchase through large-scale procurement competitions.Earlier this month, Boeing won the 1.8 tril

May 1, 2013

Army drone crashes, no casualties reported

HONGCHEON, Gangwon Province (Yonhap News) ― A South Korean Army unmanned aerial vehicle crashed on Tuesday while attempting to land on an airfield, but no casualties were reported, military officials said.The drone, which has a 4.5 meter-long body and a wingspan of 6 meters, fell into a field in Hongcheon, Gangwon Province, at 10:30 a.m. during a routine training flight using the remote control system, officials said.There were no injuries to civilians and no property damage, the Army said. Mili

April 30, 2013

K2 battle tank fails another engine test

South Korea’s project to develop the next-generation K2 battle tank faces another hurdle as its engine failed durability tests, officials at the Defense Acquisition and Procurement Administration said Monday, further delaying the project plagued with technical problems in past years.Designed to replace the aging K1 and the U.S.-built M48 tanks, the indigenous tank project worth more than 2 trillion won ($1.84 billion) first began in 2006 after a decade of research and development. But a series o

April 22, 2013

Seoul vows to keep deadline for wartime control transfer

South Korea's defense ministry reaffirmed its commitment Monday to work with its American counterpart to take back wartime operational control in 2015 as scheduled, despite growing calls to delay the process to counter North Korea aggression.Asked about the need to postpone the deadline in the wake of growing threats posed by Pyongyang, Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin told lawmakers that preparations are "well underway" as agreed by the governments of the two nations."Currently, the defense minist

April 22, 2013

Korean, U.S. reaffirm N.K. contingency plan

Top South Korean and U.S. military officers reiterated Thursday that the allies would respond firmly to any North Korean provocations in accordance with their recently signed contingency plan.During their 37th Military Committee Meeting, Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Gen. Jung Seung-jo and his U.S. counterpart Gen. Martin Dempsey also reaffirmed that preparations for the transfer of wartime operational control slated for 2015 were “on track.”They agreed to refine the specifics on the fu

April 19, 2013

Japan ready to ink military pact with S. Korea 'at any time'

The Japanese ambassador to Seoul said Wednesday that Tokyo is prepared to sign a military intelligence pact with South Korea "at any time," urging Seoul to boost military partnership in the face of North Korea's bellicosethreats.  South Korea and Japan postponed the signing of the military intelligence-sharing agreement last July -- which would have been the first military pact between the two nations -- due to discontent among Koreans. Memories of Japan's brutal colonial rule on the Korean Peni

April 17, 2013

Korea eyes extra 217 billion won for defense spending

The Defense Ministry said Tuesday it will submit a 217.4 billion won ($194.3 million) supplementary budget to the parliament for approval to increase spending on weapons on the frontlines and shelters on border islands to better counter North Korean threats amid high tensions.The Cabinet approved an extra budget worth 17.3 trillion won for this year in a bid to revitalize the economy faced with gloomy market conditions at home and abroad. The budget is the largest since 2009 when the nation unve

April 16, 2013

No injuries reported in U.S. military chopper crash

A U.S. military helicopter crashed while landing at a front-line Army unit Tuesday, but all of three crew members and 13 U.S. soldiers on board escaped unscathed, police and military officials said.Sikorsky's CH-53 transport helicopter crashed onto a military shooting range in Cherwon, 88 kilometers north of Seoul, while landing after completing a three-hour training exercise along with five other helicopters, according to military officials. After all the American soldiers had escaped to safety

April 16, 2013

S. Korea divides nuclear plant controls from Internet

Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co., the sole operator of South Korea's nuclear power plants, said Sunday that it has separated its internal computer network from the Internet in an effort to guard against possible cyber attacks.   The state-run company said it has also completely divided its nuclear plant control systems from its internal computer networks and restricted both systems' access to the Internet.USB ports of the nuclear power plant control systems have also been sealed, it added.    The

April 14, 2013

Border mountain fire eases

A wind-fed mountain fire that broke out in North Korea and spread into the South Korean sector of the inter-Korean border Saturday was largely broughtunder control, military authorities said.   The blaze, first spotted in the northern side of the 4-kilometer-wide Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) at around 4:40 a.m., quickly spread past the eastern sector of the 248-kilometer border and reached within 100 meters of the nearest South Korean guard posts inside the buffer zone, they said.  Two forest servic

April 14, 2013

Korea to develop mid-altitude drones

South Korea will resume a once-aborted program to develop mid-altitude unmanned aerial vehicles (MUAV) to bolster its monitoring capabilities of North Korea’s missile and nuclear programs, a military source said Tuesday.The state-funded Agency for Defense Development launched the indigenous drone development project in 2006 and made a prototype in May 2010. But the project was put on ice in early 2011 as it overlapped with Seoul’s plan to buy high-altitude UAVs. As calls grew for reviving the 16

April 9, 2013