BEIJING (AP) _ One person has died and several others have been injured in an explosion at a bank in the central Chinese city of Wuhan.   A city fire and rescue official says the explosion occurred early Thursday evening outside a branch of state-owned China Construction Bank.

Dec. 1, 2011

The Joint Chiefs of Staff set up the operation headquarters that will oversee security issues at next year’s Nuclear Security Summit.The summit is scheduled for March 26-27 in Seoul. The meeting to be chaired by President Lee Myung-bak will bring together 50 heads of state who will discuss measures to prevent nuclear materials that can be used in acts of aggression from reaching the hands of terrorists and other non-state entities.The newly established headquarters will be responsible for ensuri

Dec. 1, 2011

SEOUL, Dec. 1 (Yonhap) -- The military court said Thursday it has sentenced two Marine major generals to suspended terms on charges of making false accusations against their former top commander.In a trial held Wednesday, the court handed down six-month suspended terms to the two major generals, sur

Dec. 1, 2011

The government has decided to send peacekeeping troops to South Sudan next year, sources said Thursday. The decision was made in response to requests from the United Nations made on Aug. 8.Although the decision has yet to be approved by the National Assembly, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who

Dec. 1, 2011

The Air Force is drawing criticism for not disclosing a failed live fire drill conducted in June using a $1.7 million air-to-ground missile.According to reports, the Air Force conducted a live fire drill with a SLAM-ER missile on June 15. The weapon, fired from an F-15K fighter jet, failed to reach its target and fell into the sea.The Air Force conducted a similar drill on June 17, in which the weapon functioned as intended, and the film taken at the time was revealed on Nov. 23, the first anniv

Nov. 29, 2011

The top U.S. military commander in South Korea on Wednesday offered full support for South Korea in case of future North Korean provocations, an official said.Army Gen. James D. Thurman, commander of the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK), attended the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff’s assessment of its operational situations and was briefed on South Korean forces’ postures and recent movements in the North Korean military, a JCS official said.Thurman and South Korean Army Gen. Jung Seung-jo, the JCS c

Nov. 23, 2011

South Korea will hold a military drill in the West Sea on Wednesday, the one-year anniversary of North Korea’s attack on Yeonpyeongdo.In the drill, units including the Northwest Islands Defense Command, Air Force Operations Command and the Navy Operations Command will engage in an exercise simulating last year’s attack under the command of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Jung Seung-jo. The exercise will also include a drill defending Baengnyeong Island against a North Korean attempt t

Nov. 22, 2011

South Korean defense companies on Monday denied recent rumors that they’re under investigation by U.S. intelligence officials for allegedly stealing key U.S. weapons technologies.The companies, including shipbuilders like Hyundai Heavy Industries and Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering, told the Defense Acquisition Program Administration that they have never attempted to copy or steal U.S. technologies, DAPA officials told reporters.“We’ve checked with each and every related defense compa

Nov. 21, 2011

The navies of South Korea and China will hold joint a naval exercise and military talks this week in China, South Korea’s Navy here said Monday.The navies will hold their fourth joint Search and Rescue Exercise, or SAREX, from Tuesday to Friday this week. The exercise will be held in waters off Ningbo and Shanghai, the South Korean Navy said.The two navies have previously held the SAREX in 2005, 2007 and 2008.South Korea will deploy its 4,500-ton Wang Geon destroyer, and China will send a frigat

Nov. 21, 2011

The Air Force was found to have lost two highly classified documents and failed to notify the proper authorities for several months, once again raising concerns over a lack of security within the military. According to information revealed by Rep. Shin Hak-yong of the Democratic Party, Operational Plan 3600-06 and Operational Order 2500 were lost in December 2010 after the then-chief of Air Force Operations Command Lieutenant General Lee Young-man reviewed them. Lee is currently serving as the d

Nov. 21, 2011

SEOUL, Nov. 21 (Yonhap) -- The Air Force last year negligently disposed of classified documents but only reported the files as missing nine months after the fact, a lawmaker said Monday.According to Democratic Party Rep. Shin Hak-yong, an orderly of a senior Air Force officer threw away the Air Forc

Nov. 21, 2011

Wendy R. Sherman, a top U.S. State Department official, will visit South Korea next week to discuss alliance issues, the department announced Friday.The under secretary for political affairs plans to meet with a range of senior officials on Tuesday to "explore how to expand the depth and breadth of

Nov. 19, 2011

WASHINGTON (Yonhap News) ― The United States is not considering a revision of the legal guidelines on the status of its 28,000 troops in South Korea, the nominee to become a top U.S. defense official said Thursday, despite a renewed call for it in South Korea.Mark W. Lippert, nominee for assistant secretary of defense fo Asian and Pacific security affairs, said in a Senate confirmation hearing that Washington wants continued flexibility in implementing the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) rathe

Nov. 18, 2011

A missing U.S. military rifle was found Thursday near a local air base, where President Lee Myung-bak departed aboard a presidential jet on the same day for Indonesia to attend a regional summit, an official said Friday.The U.S. Forces Korea official said a civilian found the M4 rifle on Thursday on a road near Seoul Airport, located in Seongnam, just south of the capital city. The discovery apparently alarmed the presidential security detail, but the rifle has since been returned to the U.S. un

Nov. 18, 2011

The United States is not considering a revision of the legal guidelines on the status of its 28,000 troops in South Korea, the nominee to become a top U.S.defense official said Thursday, despite a renewed call for it in South Korea.Mark W. Lippert, nominee for assistant secretary of defense fo Asian

Nov. 18, 2011

Two sides to discuss possible change to regulations for American soldiersThe Korea-U.S. SOFA Joint Committee will meet on Nov. 23 to discuss issues regarding custody of U.S. military personnel suspected of committing crimes in Korea.The SOFA, or status of forces agreement, outlines the conditions applied to U.S. military personnel stationed in Korea and their dependents. The agreement includes details regarding their treatment when involved in criminal cases. The development comes as a spike in

Nov. 17, 2011