Defense chief says indigenous KF-21 fighter will play key role for N. Korea deterrence

South Korea's Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup expressed expectations Wednesday that the country's homegrown KF-21 fighter under development will play a "great" role in deterring evolving North Korean threats. Lee made the remarks at a ceremony celebrating the first flight of the jet that the country has been pushing to develop by 2026 under the 8.8 trillion won ($6.15 billion) project aimed at replacing the aging fleet of F-4 and F-5 fighters and bolstering air power. Built by Korea A

Sept. 28, 2022

S. Korea, US, Japan to conduct trilateral military exercise off peninsula: lawmaker

South Korea, the United States and Japan will conduct a trilateral military exercise in waters off the Korean Peninsula, a South Korean lawmaker revealed Wednesday. The South Korean, US navies and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force are set to stage an anti-submarine warfare exercise on Friday in international waters of the East Sea, Rep. Ahn Gyu-back of the opposition Democratic Party of Korea said on Facebook. Ahn said the trilateral exercise will be staged outside of the Korean Theater of O

Sept. 28, 2022

USS Ronald Reagan in S. Korean waters for routine exercise: Pentagon

WASHINGTON -- South Korea and the United States are undertaking a joint naval exercise that is aimed at improving their interoperability and joint defense capabilities, a Pentagon spokesperson said Tuesday. The remarks come after North Korea lashed out at the US for conducting a joint military exercise that it claims is aimed at toppling its regime in Pyongyang. "The Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group began a series of exercises in the East Sea with the Republic of Korea Navy (on) September

Sept. 28, 2022

US aircraft carrier, South Korean Navy conduct drills off peninsula to deter N.Korea

South Korea and the United States began four days of combined naval exercises, including a US aircraft carrier, off the Korean Peninsula’s east coast on Monday to enhance allied military capabilities against North Korean threats. They are the first such drills staged in South Korean waters since 2017. “The exercises were designed to demonstrate the South Korea-US alliance’s strong will to counter North Korean provocations and improve the capabilities of the two navies to carry

Sept. 26, 2022

US aircraft carrier arrives in S.Korea as allies seek to improve combat readiness

BUSAN – The US Navy’s nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan arrived in South Korea on Friday morning as South Korea and the United States seek to improve the allies’ combat readiness and deterrence against mounting threats from North Korea and regional security challenges. With a total of around 4,900 crew members and 90 aircraft, the USS Ronald Reagan, a 100,000-metric ton nuclear-powered supercarrier, and its carrier strike group docked at a naval base in the sou

Sept. 23, 2022

USS Ronald Reagan to arrive in S. Korea in apparent warning to N. Korea

A US aircraft carrier is set to arrive in South Korea on Friday for its first combined drills with the South Korean Navy near the peninsula in five years, as the allies are striving to reinforce deterrence against evolving North Korean military threats. The nuclear-powered USS Ronald Reagan is slated to dock at ROK Fleet Command in Busan, amid worries about the possibility of the North staging a nuclear test or other provocations. ROK stands for South Korea's official name, Republic of Kore

Sept. 23, 2022

S. Korea, US Marines develop 5-year plan to bolster combined amphibious exercises

South Korean and US Marine Corps have developed a five-year plan to strengthen combined amphibious landing exercises, a US military unit here said Wednesday, amid the allies' move to sharpen deterrence against evolving North Korean threats. The US Marine Corps Forces Korea (MARFOR-K) revealed the formulation of the allies' training program, as Seoul and Washington are stepping up security cooperation amid concerns about the possibility of Pyongyang conducting a nuclear test or other pr

Sept. 21, 2022

S. Korean troops joined allied drills in California this month for interoperability: U.S. military

South Korean soldiers conducted combined training with their American fellows at a key training center in California earlier this month, the U.S. military said Tuesday, amid the allies' stepped-up move to sharpen deterrence against North Korean threats. The Army soldiers completed the training program at the National Training Center as part of efforts to improve "warfighting" capabilities and "interoperability" among the allied forces, according to the Eight Army. The trainin

Sept. 20, 2022

Yoon awards Civil Merit Medal to British veteran of Korean War

LONDON -- South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol on Monday awarded the Civil Merit Medal to a British veteran of the Korean War, thanking him for his sacrifice and dedication to the defense of peace. Yoon presented the medal to Victor Swift, who served as a corporal in the Corps of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers during the 1950-53 war, after attending the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II. Swift, 88, serves as head of the British Korean War Veterans Association and has worked to s

Sept. 20, 2022

S. Korea's vice defense minister briefed on key US strategic assets during visit to local base

South Korea's Vice Defense Minister Shin Beom-chul has received a briefing on key US nuclear assets, including a strategic bomber and "low-yield" weapons mountable on it, during a visit to a military base in the United States, his ministry said Friday. His tour of Joint Base Andrews outside Washington, D.C., on Thursday (local time) followed North Korea's recent codification of an assertive nuclear policy that leaves open the possibility of a preemptive strike in case of a re

Sept. 16, 2022

S. Korea, US agree to launch high-level dialogue channel on defense tech cooperation

South Korea and the United States agreed to enhance cooperation in defense science and technology to counter emerging threats and establish a high-level dialogue channel to regularly discuss the issue, South Korea’s Defense Ministry announced Thursday. South Korea’s Vice Defense Minister Shin Beom-chul separately met US Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering Heidi Shyu and Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment William LaPlante on Wednesday at the h

Sept. 15, 2022

S. Korea, US to discuss ‘concrete,’ ‘stronger’ measures for N.Korean threats

South Korea and the United States will discuss “concrete and stronger measures” to counter North Korea’s existential and mounting threats and enhance the viability of the US extended deterrence at the upcoming high-level strategic talks, senior South Korean officials said. The two countries will hold a vice ministerial-level meeting of the Extended Deterrence Strategy and Consultation Group, or EDSCG, in Washington on Friday for the first time since January 2018. “South K

Sept. 14, 2022

Seoul-Tokyo fence-mending needed for stronger security cooperation: vice minister

The Yoon Suk-yeol government seeks to develop trilateral security cooperation among South Korea, the United States and Japan to the next level and normalize defense cooperation with Japan to counter North Korea’s rapidly escalating and existential missile and nuclear threats. South Korea wants to take it up a notch, but at the same time, it sees fence-mending with Japan as indispensable for bilateral and trilateral security cooperation to be “sustainable” and more robust, South

Sept. 7, 2022

S. Korea opens annual intl. security forum on NK threats, regional peace

An annual international security forum hosted by South Korea's defense ministry kicked off in Seoul on Tuesday for discussions on North Korea's denuclearization, cyberthreats, space security and other challenges. The three-day vice-ministerial Seoul Defense Dialogue (SDD) got under way at Lotte Hotel in central Seoul under the theme of "How to Address Complex Security Challenges: Fostering International Solidarity." The first fully in-person SDD session since 2019 brought tog

Sept. 6, 2022

Vice defense ministers of S. Korea, Japan to hold rare talks

South Korean and Japanese vice defense ministers will hold a rare in-person meeting this week in Seoul for the first time in six years and discuss long pending issues, including the radar lock-on dispute in 2018, and defense and security cooperation. Japanese Vice Minister of Defense for International Affairs Masami Oka will visit Seoul to participate in the three-day Seoul Defense Dialogue 2022 which is set to begin on Tuesday. South Korean Vice Defense Minister Shin Beom-chul will meet Oka on

Sept. 5, 2022

S. Korea offers unfettered access to THAAD base

South Korea has begun the process of providing full-time, unfettered overland access to a military base that hosts the US-made Terminal High Altitude Area Defense anti-ballistic missile system in earnest as of Sunday.The move is part of the South Korean president’s pledge to “normalize” the operation of the THAAD base in Soseong-ri, Seongju County, North Gyeongsang Province, by the end of August. Around 10 vehicles carrying construction equipment, an oil tank and military perso

Sept. 4, 2022

S. Korean, US troops to end two-week combined exercise

South Korea and the United States are set to wrap up a major combined military exercise Thursday, Seoul officials said, in a conclusion highlighting their pursuit of stronger deterrence against North Korea's nuclear and missile threats. The allies have carried out the Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise, which kicked off on Aug. 22, despite North Korean state media berating the annual drills as a rehearsal for war against the reclusive regime. The exercise involved more than a dozen field trainin

Sept. 1, 2022

Budget raised for defense system against N.Korean threats

South Korea’s Defense Ministry has proposed to raise expenditures on establishing an indigenous three-axis defense system by 9.4 percent amid North Korea’s mounting missile and nuclear threats, but has left a controversial project of locally building a light aircraft carrier out of the spending bill. The overall defense budget for 2023 approved by the Cabinet on Tuesday morning set a 4.6 percent year-on-year increase to around 57.1 trillion won ($42.3 billion), the Defense Ministry s

Aug. 30, 2022

Defense Ministry ensures active communication over normalizing THAAD

The Defense Ministry promised more active communication with local residents regarding normalizing the THAAD anti-missile base in Seongju, North Gyeongsang Province, Tuesday. Col. Moon Hong-sik, deputy spokesperson of the Defense Ministry, said in a regular briefing, "We will sufficiently and actively communicate with local residents. Not only the Defense Ministry, but also the government should make effort to soothe the problem.” He stressed the importance of the Terminal High Altitu

Aug. 30, 2022

S. Korea seeks 4.6 % hike in defense budget for next year

The South Korean government announced a plan Tuesday for a 4.6 percent on-year increase in its defense budget for next year, with a focus on bolstering a key deterrence system to counter North Korea's nuclear and missile threats. The defense ministry has proposed a budget of 57.1 trillion won ($42.3 billion) for next year, up from this year's 54.6 trillion won. The government plans to submit it to the National Assembly on Friday for approval. Of the total, the ministry seeks to spend 1

Aug. 30, 2022