Pentagon delays missile test out of N.K. concern

The U.S. Defense Department has postponed its plan to conduct an intercontinental ballistic missile test at its Air Force base in California amid escalating tensions with North Korea.The Pentagon planned to conduct the Minuteman III test in the coming week, but put it off until sometime next month out of concerns the launch could further worsen the tension on the peninsula, the AP reported, citing one senior U.S. defense official.Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel made the decision Friday, the report

April 7, 2013

S. Korea's defense spending rises amid N. Korea's nuclear threat

   SEOUL -- South Korea's defense spending rose for the third consecutive year last year, data showed Sunday, amid escalating tensions with North Korea over its persistent nuclear and missile threats.   South Korea spent 2.6 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP) on defense last year, the highest level in three years, according to figures by the Ministry of National Defense.   South Korea's defense expenditure totaled 32.9576 trillion won (US$29 billion), accounting for 2.59 percent of the

April 7, 2013

U.S. delays missile test as tensions rise: source

The U.S. Defense Department has delayed an intercontinental ballistic missile test that had been planned for next week at an Air Force base in California amid mounting tensions with North Korea, a senior defense official told The Associated Press.   The official said Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel decided to put off the long-planned Minuteman 3 test until sometime next month because of concerns the launch could be misinterpreted and exacerbate the Korean crisis. Hagel made the decision Friday, th

April 7, 2013

Pentagon approves fighter jet sale to Seoul

The U.S. Defense Department has notified Congress of the possible sale of Lockheed Martin’s F-35 stealth warplane or Boeing’s F-15 Silent Eagle to South Korea, which is to pick the winner of its fighter acquisition contest later this year.On Wednesday, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, which handles Washington’s foreign military sales, announced the compulsory congressional notification, which took place last Friday.“The proposed sale will provide it (South Korea) with a credible defense

April 4, 2013

Defense Ministry to establish cyber policy department

South Korea’s Defense Ministry will establish a new department to oversee cyber deterrence policies and prepare information security measures to better deal with the emerging form of threats, a senior military official said Tuesday. The South Korean military launched the Cyber Command in early 2010 to handle cyber security issues along with different military and intelligence organizations, but there is no control tower to integrate the policies and strategies that defend military networks.The m

April 2, 2013

U.S. destroyer sent to S. Korea coast: official

The United States has positioned a destroyer off the coast of South Korea to defend against a possible missile strike, a U.S. official said, as the South vowed a strong response to any provocation from the North.The USS Fitzgerald was moved to the southwestern coast after taking part in military exercises, instead of returning to its home port in Japan, a U.S. defense official told AFP Monday on condition of anonymity.The deployment came as North Korea's rubber-stamp parliament formalized the co

April 2, 2013

Park to hold security ministers' meeting amid N.K. threats

South Korean President Park Geun-hye was to hold a meeting of Cabinet ministers related to foreign affairs and security on Tuesday amid North Korea's near-daily threats of war on the Korean Peninsula, an official said.It will be Park's first such meeting since she took office in February.The meeting will discuss the "situations at home and abroad," the official said without elaborating. Participants will include the chief of the national security office, the defense minister, the unification min

April 2, 2013

Seoul to develop plan for cyber attack scenarios

The Defense Ministry plans to develop its military plan to respond to a variety of North Korean cyber attack scenarios and bolster its personnel to cope with the newly emerging threat, the ministry said in its policy briefing to President Park Geun-hye on Monday.Seoul has been increasingly focusing on its cyber and electronic warfare capabilities as Pyongyang has launched a series of attacks employing thousands of its special troops including those based in China. In recent years, its cyber atta

April 1, 2013

Veterans ministry prepares to mark 60th anniv. of armistice

South Korea will hold a variety of events at home and abroad to mark the 60th anniversary of signing the Korean War Armistice Agreement as a way to honor those who made sacrifices during the three-year conflict, government officials said Monday. The Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs reported its 2013 policy plan to President Park Geun-hye at the defense ministry, which centers on expanding benefits for war veterans, creating jobs for ex-servicemen and holding various events to raise publ

April 1, 2013

U.S. B-2 stealth bomber conducts first firing drill in Korea

   SEOUL -- The United States air force's nuclear-capable B-2 stealth bombers carried out its first-ever firing drill over the Korean Peninsula on Thursday, the Combined Forces Command said, sending another strong warning to North Korea, which has threatened a preemptive nuclear attack on the U.S. and South Korea.   The U.S. Strategic Command sent two B-2 Spirit Bombers for "a long-duration, round-trip training mission" from Whiteman Air Force Base in the U.S. state of Missouri to South Korea in

March 28, 2013

Military lifts alert near border after finding no sign of N.K. intrusion

South Korea's front-line military unit had been briefly on its highest status of alert after discovering an "unidentified object" in a border fence that separates the two Koreas, but lifted the alert as they found no signs of intrusion from the North, a military official said Wednesday. A South Korean soldier threw a grenade at the object after discovering it while guarding a military post in Hwacheon, 118 kilometers northeast of Seoul, at around 2:30 a.m. earlier in the day, the official said.

March 27, 2013

S. Korea remembers fallen soldiers on third anniversary

SEOUL -- South Korea on Tuesday mourned the loss of 46 sailors who were killed in the sinking of the Cheonan warship in a torpedo attack by North Korea three years ago, with people across the country paying respects to those who perished and vowing to remember their sacrifices. The 1,200-ton Cheonan warship exploded and sank in the Yellow Sea on the night of March 26, 2010, killing 46 sailors. A South Korean-led international investigation found that North Korea torpedoed the ship, though Pyongy

March 26, 2013

Seoul holds drill to mark anniversary of Cheonan sinking

South Korea's Navy carried out maritime drills in the tensely guarded western sea on Monday ahead of the third anniversary of the sinking of the Cheonan warship by North Korea, amid high tensions with the communist country that has issued repeated threats of war.The 1,200-ton Navy corvette with 104 personnel aboard sank in waters of Baengnyeong Island in Yellow Sea on March 26, 2010, killing 46 sailors. A multinational investigation team concluded that a North Korean torpedo was responsible for

March 25, 2013