S. Korea, UAE agree to forge strategic defense industry cooperation

  The arms procurement agencies of South Korea and the United Arab Emirates have signed a deal to strategically and substantially enhance defense industry cooperation, which has paved the way for South Korean defense contractors to expand their export horizons to the UAE. South Korean Minister of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, Eom Dong-hwan, and Secretary General of the UAE’s Tawazun Council, Tareq Abdulraheem Al Hosani, signed a memorandum of understanding on “

Jan. 16, 2023

Yoon calls UAE ‘brother country’ during visit to Korean troops

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — President Yoon Suk Yeol visited Korean troops stationed in the United Arab Emirates to encourage the soldiers, telling them the UAE is “our brother” and that its security was the security of South Korea, the presidential office said Sunday. President Yoon and first lady Kim Keon Hee visited the Akh unit, which has been dispatched by South Korea since 2011 to train UAE special forces at the request of the UAE government. Yoon told the troops the

Jan. 16, 2023

South Korea, US in talks on how to modernize UN Command: ministry

South Korea and the United States have been in discussion over how to modernize the US-led United Nations Command, South Korea’s Defense Ministry said Wednesday, adding that it aimed to complete the discussion and publicly announce the outcome this year. Seoul took the 70th anniversary of the US-South Korea alliance as an opportunity to propose comprehensive talks on the issue, senior Defense Ministry officials confirmed during a closed-door briefing on condition of anonymity. They added t

Jan. 11, 2023

Hwaseong City, Korean American business group in Santa Clara Country sign MOU

Hwaseong City Mayor Jeong Myeong-geun has signed an agreement with Santa Clara County Korean American Chamber of Commerce on Monday to support global entry of local startups operating in the Korean city, officials said Tuesday. Under the agreement, the two sides will hold a technology seminar and expo in the US as well as develop a network of companies and an entrepreneur leadership program. The agreement took place during Mayor Jeong’s visit to the Californian city. With Santa Clara Count

Jan. 10, 2023

Tit-for-tat action not restricted by armistice agreement, ministry claims

South Korea’s Defense Ministry on Monday said that the military’s response to the cross-border infiltration by North Korean drones did not breach the armistice agreement, stressing that the countermeasure was essential to its right of self-defense enshrined in the UN Charter. The ministry’s argument counters that of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, which said that the South Korean military violated the Korean Armistice Agreement by flying its reconnaissance drones

Jan. 9, 2023

S. Korea considering buying Israeli drone detection system: source

South Korea's military is considering the purchase of an Israeli "electric eye" as part of efforts to bolster its capabilities to detect small North Korean drones, a defense source in Seoul said Sunday. The move comes as the South's defense authorities have come under fierce criticism for the failure to counter the penetration of five North Korean drones into its airspace late last month. It was belatedly revealed that one of them even intruded into the no-fly zone, called P-

Jan. 8, 2023

S.Korean military denies allegations of covering up NK penetration into no-fly zone amid growing criticism

The South Korean military on Friday denied claims that it sought to cover up the entrance of an uncrewed North Korean aerial vehicle into a no-fly zone around the presidential office in Seoul, as its belated confirmation of the penetration has drawn blistering criticism from the main opposition party. The rebuttal came a day after South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff announced the interim outcome of its ongoing investigation into the intrusion of five North Korean unmanned aerial vehicles,

Jan. 6, 2023

Yoon considers suspension of military agreement on reducing tensions with NK

President Yoon Suk-yeol ordered the nation's spy chief to consider suspending an inter-Korean military agreement signed in 2018 to reduce military tensions if North Korea commits provocations again. The commander in chief also instructed the military to establish a joint drone unit capable of mass-producing small, undetectable drones, the presidential office said Wednesday. Yoon's instructions came after he was briefed about the response strategy to North Korea’s drones by the

Jan. 4, 2023

South Korea, US in talks over joint plans on N.Korean nukes

South Korea and the United States said Tuesday they had been discussing the joint operation of US nuclear assets to enhance the alliance’s capabilities to counter North Korean threats, clarifying that an option to stage nuclear exercises was off the table. The presidential office in Seoul confirmed hours after US President Joe Biden flatly denied a White House reporter question whether he was “discussing joint nuclear exercises with South Korea right now.”  Bu

Jan. 3, 2023

Military’s solid fuel rocket test sparks UFO scare

South Korea’s Defense Ministry said Friday night that the multiple unidentified aircraft flying over the sky was a successful test of its solid-fuel space rocket. The test flight is a follow-up to another launch conducted on March 30. The ministry added that the launch was conducted to strengthen national defense capabilities in areas like independent space-based surveillance and reconnaissance. The ministry also apologized that it couldn’t inform people in advance. At around 6 p.m.,

Dec. 30, 2022

Belgium-Luxembourg unit named Korean War hero of the month

South Korea's veterans ministry has chosen a unified Belgium-Luxembourg battalion as next month's Korean War hero for its contribution to key defense operations during the 1950-53 conflict, officials said Friday. The battalion consisted of 700 Belgian troops and 48 Luxembourg soldiers, who were mobilized to fight under the UN banner in support of South Korea. It was credited with blocking enemy forces' southward advance in the northeastern province of Gangwon for 55 straight days.

Dec. 30, 2022

Yoon orders military to secure peace with superior war preparation

President Yoon Suk-yeol ordered South Korean military to protect the peace on the peninsula by preparing overwhelming war capabilities, during a visit to a defense development agency on Thursday in the wake of Pyongyang's airspace invasion. “If we are to achieve peace, we must prepare for war with overwhelming superiority,” Yoon said. “We must clearly realize that a disguised peace cannot protect (our) security, and its foundation will collapse.” Reiterating his

Dec. 29, 2022

Yoon orders immediate retaliation against N.Korean provocations

President Yoon Suk-yeol on Wednesday ordered the military to “punish and retaliate against any North Korean provocations in no uncertain terms” without the fear of nuclear weapons, amid growing public concern about security in the aftermath of the cross-border infiltration of North Korean drones. Speaking at a meeting with aides, Yoon said that immediate retaliation is the “most powerful means to deter provocations,” according to Kim Eun-hye, senior presidential secretary

Dec. 28, 2022

N.Korean drone infiltration leaves military’s capabilities in question

The South Korean military on Tuesday made a public apology over its failure to bring down five North Korean drones and trace their whereabouts even a day after they trespassed into South Korean airspace as North Korea’s cross-border offensive has left the South Korean military’s response capabilities in question. “The lack of our military’s preparedness has caused a lot of concerns to the public,” Kang Shin-chul, director of operations for South Korea’s Joint

Dec. 27, 2022

S. Korea holds regular Dokdo defense drills: source

South Korea conducted regular military drills earlier this week to enhance the defense of its easternmost islets of Dokdo, an informed source said Friday, following Japan's renewed claims to the East Sea outcroppings in a revised security document. Personnel of the Navy and Coast Guard staged the biannual drills on Thursday after Tokyo renewed its claims to Dokdo in the revised National Security Strategy last week despite the growing need for bilateral cooperation against evolving North Kor

Dec. 23, 2022

S. Korea to begin minesweeping chopper development project

South Korea will embark on a 347.7 billion-won ($271.4 million) project Thursday to locally develop a minesweeping helicopter by 2026 for enhanced naval operations, the state arms procurement agency said. The Defense Acquisition Program Administration is set to sign a contract with Korea Aerospace Industries Ltd., the country's sole aircraft maker, to begin the project aimed at bolstering the Navy's countermine capabilities and protecting maritime shipping lanes. Once developed, an uns

Dec. 22, 2022

Defense ministry tried to delete intelligence about killing of fisheries official: prosecution

The prosecution investigating the preceding government's handling of the killing of a fisheries official by North Korean soldiers has secured testimony that the defense ministry itself had attempted to delete related intelligence reports even before the National Security Council ordered their removal, officials said Wednesday. The official, Lee Dae-jun, was fatally shot by the North Korean coast guard members near the de facto maritime border in the Yellow Sea on Sept. 22, 2020, a day aft

Dec. 21, 2022

Remains of eight Korean War troops interred at state cemeteries

South Korea's military on Tuesday held ceremonies to lay to rest the remains of eight service members killed in the 1950-53 Korean War following their excavation from former battle sites, the Army said. The ceremonies took place at Seoul National Cemetery in the capital and Daejeon National Cemetery in Daejeon, 160 kilometers south of Seoul. The remains of three of the fallen troops were interred at the national cemetery in Seoul, while the rest were laid to rest at the Daejeon cemetery. Ar

Dec. 20, 2022

S. Korea develops air-to-ground guided missile for light armed helicopter

South Korea has successfully completed a 180 billion-won ($138 million) project to develop an air-to-ground guided missile to be fitted on a homegrown light armed helicopter, the state arms procurement agency said Monday. The missile, named Cheongeom, passed a combat suitability assessment on Dec. 12, capping more than seven years of development efforts led by the state-run Agency for Defense Development, according to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration. Cheongeom means heavenly sword

Dec. 19, 2022

S. Korean, US Navy SEALs hold bilateral exercise

Navy SEALs of South Korea and the United States recently concluded a two-week bilateral exercise designed to strengthen their interoperability, officials said Sunday. The US Indo-Pacific Command said a West-Coast based SEAL team and the South Korean Naval Special Warfare Flotilla concluded their bilateral session on Dec. 9 On its website, the US command noted that the exercise included static and dynamic weapons training, close quarters combat drills, mission planning and knowledge and cultural

Dec. 18, 2022