S. Korea resumes border artillery drills on land for 1st time in 6 years

South Korea resumed live-fire exercises at artillery ranges near the border with North Korea on Tuesday for the first time in six years, following the suspension of an inter-Korean tension-reduction pact that restricted such drills. Troops fired some 140 rounds using the K9 and K105A1 self-propelled howitzers during the drills at front-line ranges in the provinces of Gyeonggi and Gangwon, located within 5 kilometers of the Military Demarcation Line within the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating

July 2, 2024

S. Korea marks 22nd anniversary of victorious inter-Korean naval skirmish

South Korea on Saturday commemorated the 22nd anniversary of its victorious naval skirmish against North Korea, paying tribute to Navy sailors killed in action and vowing to honor their sacrifices with a firmer defense posture. The ceremony marking the anniversary of the Second Battle of Yeonpyeong took place at the Navy's 2nd Fleet Command in Pyeongtaek, 60 kilometers south of Seoul. Defense Minister Shin Won-sik, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Yang Yong-mo and Vice Veterans Minister Lee Hee-wa

June 29, 2024

S. Korea, US, Japan wrap up 1st trilateral 'Freedom Edge' exercise

South Korea, the United States and Japan are scheduled to conclude their first trilateral multidomian military exercise Saturday afternoon, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said, as the three countries looked to strengthen their deterrence against North Korean threats. Titled "Freedom Edge," the three-day exercise began Thursday in international waters south of South Korea's southern resort island of Jeju. Defense chiefs of the three nations had agreed to launch these drills earlier in June,

June 29, 2024

Nuclear envoys of S. Korea, US, Japan discuss response to N. Korea's missile launch

Nuclear envoys of South Korea, the United States and Japan discussed coordination efforts Wednesday after North Korea fired a ballistic missile that appears to have failed, Seoul's foreign ministry said. Lee Jun-il, director general for Korean Peninsula policy, shared the assessment on the latest missile launch, with his US and Japanese counterparts, Jung Pak and Yukiya Hamamoto, respectively, the ministry said. "The three sides condemned the North's ballistic missile launch as a

June 26, 2024

Live-fire drills return to South Korea’s sea border with North

For the first time since the beginning of the Moon Jae-in administration in August 2017, South Korea’s Marine Corps on Wednesday conducted live-fire drills from islands south of the sea border with the North. The full-scale live-fire drills came after South Korea suspended the 2018 inter-Korean pact for reducing front-line tensions, which had been reached as part of Moon's North Korea appeasement policy. Following an attempted launch of another military reconnaissance satellite by Nor

June 26, 2024

South Korea trying to sell Romania more weapons: defense minister

South Korea’s defense chief Shin Won-sik said Monday he will make efforts to secure orders for tanks, armored vehicles and air defense systems from Romania, which has decided to purchase the K-9 self-propelled howitzers. The minister of national defense, who returned from a trip to Romania and Poland, told reporters at the defense ministry building in Yongsan, central Seoul, that he would try to get South Korean companies to enter the Romanian defense market. He said Romania was in the pro

June 24, 2024

S. Korea, US to hold 4th round of defense cost sharing talks this week

South Korea and the United States will hold their fourth round of negotiations on sharing the cost for the upkeep of the 28,500-strong American troops here, a foreign ministry official said Monday. The talks on the Special Measures Agreement will take place in Seoul from Tuesday through Thursday, led by Lee Tae-woo, South Korea's chief negotiator for the talks, and Linda Specht, the US lead negotiator for security agreements at the State Department, the official said. The current six-year S

June 24, 2024

S. Korea completes deployment of Surion utility helicopter to Army

The state arms procurement agency said Monday it has completed the operational deployment of the locally built Surion utility helicopter to the Army, more than a decade after the first unit's delivery. South Korea began delivering the KUH-1 Surion helicopter to the Army in late 2012, after a seven-year development period starting in 2006. It was designed to replace the Army's aging fleet of US-made UH-1H and 500MD helicopters. The Army now operates more than 200 Surions, which carry ou

June 24, 2024

[From the Scene] South Korean commandos train to take out terrorists

GWANGJU, Gyeonggi Province -- Six commandos parachuted from a Black Hawk helicopter at around 1,500 meters, gliding toward the designated target on the ground for a demonstration of airborne infiltration techniques Thursday morning. The commandos of the South Korean Army’s 707th special mission group, dedicated to countering terrorist threats, showcased operations responding to simulated scenarios at the National Counterterrorism Training Center in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province. In one demons

June 23, 2024

US aircraft carrier arrives in South Korea as a show of force against nuclear-armed North Korea

A nuclear-powered US aircraft carrier arrived Saturday in South Korea for a three-way exercise involving Japan as they step up military training to cope with North Korean threats, which have escalated following a security pact with Russia. The arrival of the USS Theodore Roosevelt strike group in Busan came a day after South Korea summoned the Russian ambassador to protest a major deal between Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un this week. The agreement pledges m

June 23, 2024

S. Korea, US, Japan agree on close cooperation through 'timely' dialogue after Kim-Putin summit: Seoul minister

South Korea, the United States and Japan have agreed on close security cooperation through "timely" consultation, after Russia and North Korea signed a new security treaty during a summit in Pyongyang this week, Seoul's top diplomat said Friday. Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul made the remarks, commenting on his back-to-back phone calls with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa. On Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean lea

June 22, 2024

North Korean soldiers briefly cross border with South again

North Korean soldiers crossed the military demarcation line that divides the Koreas on Thursday, according to the South Korean military. The soldiers retreated to their side of the border after the South fired warning shots. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said Friday that “several North Korean soldiers crossed the border into our side of the Demilitarized Zone” at around 11 a.m. Thursday. According to the JCS, the North Korean soldiers made it about 20 meters south of the

June 21, 2024

US Supreme Court dismisses British firm's appeal case over F-35 jet sales to S. Korea

The top US court has dismissed an appeal case by a British company claiming it was wrongfully excluded during South Korea's purchase of advanced US-made F-35 fighters, Seoul's arms procurement agency said Thursday. The US Supreme Court dismissed the appeal Monday in a case that South Korea has argued is beyond the jurisdiction of US courts as the transaction was one between governments, according to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA). In December 2020, Blenheim C

June 20, 2024

Romania to buy S. Korean K-9 howitzers for US$920 mln

Romania has confirmed its plan to buy South Korean K-9 self-propelled howitzers for US$920 million, the defense ministry said Wednesday, in another boost for Seoul's drive to clinch more arms export deals. Romanian Defense Minister Angel Tilvar announced the decision during talks in Romania with Seoul's defense chief Shin Won-sik, who is on a weeklong trip to Eastern Europe that will also take him to Poland, according to the ministry. Shin thanked Tilvar for the decision and anticipate

June 19, 2024

Defense minister discusses arms cooperation with Romanian presidential official

South Korean Defense Minister Shin Won-sik on Tuesday met with a Romanian presidential official in Romania and discussed expanding bilateral defense and arms cooperation, Shin's office said. Shin held talks with Ion Oprisor, Romania's presidential adviser on national security, during his visit to the East European country to bolster strategic partnership in the defense area, the defense ministry said. Oprisor expressed hope for deepening ties in defense and the arms industry, noting Ro

June 18, 2024

Landmines kill, hurt North Korean soldiers deployed for ‘barren border’ project

North Korean soldiers have been injured and killed in landmine explosions on their side of the demilitarized zone that divides the Korean Peninsula, the South Korean military said Tuesday. “The North Korean military is pushing ahead with the DMZ operations despite a series of fatal explosions of landmines,” an official at South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff told reporters. The JCS said its closed-circuit TV captured smoke near the sites where the landmines are believed to have

June 18, 2024

N. Korean military's construction activities spotted inside DMZ: source

North Korea's military has been carrying out unexplained construction activities inside the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas, according to a military source Saturday. "Recently, the North Korean military has been erecting walls, digging the ground and constructing roads in some areas between the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) and the Northern Limit Line in the DMZ," the source said. The source added it was unclear whether these activities indicate an intention t

June 15, 2024

US reaffirms pursuit of 'mutually beneficial' defense cost-sharing deal with S. Korea

A State Department official on Thursday reiterated the United States' commitment to reaching a "mutually beneficial" defense cost-sharing agreement with South Korea, stressing the bilateral alliance is a "pivotal" relationship. The official made the remarks a day after the two countries wrapped up their third round of negotiations over Seoul's share of the cost for stationing the 28,500-strong US Forces Korea under a deal, called the Special Measures Agreement. The

June 14, 2024

[Contribution] Uzbekistan-Republic of Korea: commitment to centuries-old ties, special strategic partnership

By the Uzbekistan Embassy in Seoul President of the Republic of Korea Yoon Suk Yeol will pay a state visit to Uzbekistan at the invitation of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev on June 13-15, 2024. Established on Jan. 29, 1992, Uzbek-South Korean relations have become an example of successful cooperation between the two countries in various fields. In more than thirty years of interaction, the relations have developed and strengthened, passing through several key milestones. In 2006, the Joint Decla

June 13, 2024

N. Korean soldiers briefly cross inter-Korean border, return after warning shots

About 20 North Korean soldiers briefly crossed the inter-Korean land border earlier this week and went back to the North's side after the South's military fired warning shots, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said Tuesday. The North Korean soldiers crossed the Military Demarcation Line within the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas in the central section of the border at around 12:30 p.m. Sunday, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The South Korean military conducted warning broa

June 11, 2024