Seoul seeks own missile defense system

Preliminary study on missile shield system to be completed by year-endThe South Korean military is seeking to develop its own version of the Patriot missile system, which is capable of intercepting North Korean ballistic missiles and fighter jets, multiple sources said Friday.It is pushing to build

Sept. 23, 2011

S. Korea to develop own Patriot missile to intercept N. Korean missiles: sources

SEOUL, Sept. 23 (Yonhap) -- South Korea is pushing for the development of its own version of advanced Patriot missiles to counter North Korean ballistic missiles, military sources said Friday.Multiple sources said the state-run Defense Agency for Technology and Quality (DATQ) will complete by the en

Sept. 23, 2011

S. Korea, U.S. to discuss deterrence of N.K. threats

South Korea and the U.S. held their regular security talks in Seoul on Thursday to discuss security conditions on the Korean Peninsula and other alliance issues.Deputy Minister for Policy Lim Gwan-bin and Michael Schiffer, U.S. deputy assistant secretary of defense for East Asia, led the 29th Securi

Sept. 22, 2011

Plan to deploy new weapon in trouble

Report says one in 10 low-level officers needs psychiatric counselingThe military has questioned the ability of a new weapon planned for deployment next year to neutralize long-range artillery in North Korea, a lawmaker said Thursday.According to Rep. Kim Hak-song of the ruling Grand National Party,

Sept. 22, 2011

Seoul to step up N.K. monitoring

Report says combat readiness of rapid response forces is poorSouth Korea will deploy high-tech military monitoring equipment worth 90.3 billion won ($78.7 million) to the western border islands by next year to keep closer tabs on North Korean movements, a Defense Ministry report said Tuesday.Accordi

Sept. 20, 2011

Allies to respond to N.K. provocations

Defense minister says working-level talks under way to extend ballistic missile rangeSouth Korea and the U.S. have agreed to complete the establishment of an operational plan to jointly respond to North Korea’s localized provocations by the end of this year, the Defense Ministry said Monday.The plan

Sept. 19, 2011

Military grilled on defense against N. Korean GPS jamming

SEOUL, Sept. 19 (Yonhap) -- Lawmakers from the ruling and opposition parties alike on Monday grilled the defense ministry on the military's preparedness against North Korea's jamming of satellite signals.During the annual parliamentary audit, lawmakers on the standing committee on national defense s

Sept. 19, 2011

S. Korea, U.S. hold joint drill on biological war

South Korea and the United States held a joint exercise in May to counter North Korea's possible biological attacks, a ruling party lawmaker said Sunday.Kim Hak-song of the Grand National Party (GNP) said that the anti-biological war drill was held on May 17-27 at the South Korea-U.S. Combined Force

Sept. 18, 2011

S. Korea, U.S. hold joint drill on biological war

South Korea and the United States held a joint exercise in May to counter North Korea's possible biological attacks, a ruling party lawmaker said Sunday.Kim Hak-song of the Grand National Party (GNP) said that the anti-biological war drill was held on May 17-27 at the South Korea-U.S. Combined Force

Sept. 18, 2011

U.S. spy plane to begin flights near DMZ

The U.S. is poised to start flying a spy plane near the Demilitarized Zone to acquire further intelligence on North Korea, a report said.In an article dated Monday, the Stars and Stripes, a U.S. military newspaper, quoted U.S. Air Force officials as saying the U.S. was negotiating with South Korea t

Sept. 15, 2011

Military to assign more women to combat duties

The military will place female officers in more combat duties that have so far been closed to them, a senior official said Thursday.Boo Jae-won, head of the personnel planning bureau at the defense ministry, said 12 combat branches will be open to female soldiers from 2012 to 2014.“We will open up a

Sept. 15, 2011

Military to assign more women to combat duties

SEOUL, Sept. 15 (Yonhap) -- The military will place female officers in more combat duties that have so far been closed to them, a senior official said Thursday.Boo Jae-won, head of the personnel planning bureau at the defense ministry, said 12 combat branches will be open to female soldiers from 201

Sept. 15, 2011

U.S. spy plane to begin flights near DMZ soon: report

The U.S. is poised to start flying a spy plane near the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) to acquire further intelligence on North Korea, a report said.In an article dated Monday, the Stars and Stripes, a U.S. military newspaper, quoted U.S. Air Force officials as saying the U.S. was negotiating with South K

Sept. 15, 2011

Military seeks to improve efficiency in management

The Ministry of National Defense plans to introduce enhanced management methods in a variety of areas to cut its budget by 2.3 trillion won ($2.1 billion) by 2015, officials said Wednesday.It has decided on around 10 tasks to enhance efficiency in managing military facilities and equipment, and to r

Sept. 14, 2011

‘Seoul may face W40tr bill for wartime U.S. support’

Professor claims replacement of USFK may cost W36trSouth Korea may have to provide support worth 30-40 trillion won ($27.8-37 billion) to U.S. troops that will be augmented to fight here in case of a war under a bilateral accord, a defense professor recently claimed.Kwon Heon-cheol, professor at Nat

Sept. 13, 2011

U.S. biggest arms seller for S. Korea in 2010

South Korea bought military weapons worth 982 billion won ($910 million) from the United States last year, a state-run arms procurement agency said Monday.Seoul's arms purchase from its strongest political ally accounted for roughly 66 percent of its total arms procurement, according to the report r

Sept. 12, 2011

Seismic study points to explosion as cause of Cheonan ship sinking

An artificial seismic event that occurred at the time of the sinking of the Cheonan last year indicates that an explosion was the cause of the disaster, a study showed Wednesday.Hong Tae-kyung, a South Korean professor at Yonsei University, wrote in a recent paper that a tremor of 1.5 magnitude occu

Sept. 7, 2011