South Korea confirms North Korea’s latest spy satellite launch failed

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said a projectile believed to be a North Korean spy satellite was fired toward the west of the Korean Peninsula and landed in the sea after exploding midair late Monday. The projectile, which the JCS identified as “North Korea’s so-called military reconnaissance satellite,” was fired from the North Pyongan Province in a southwesterly direction at around 10:44 p.m. The JCS said some debris from the satellite’s explosion could be ob

May 28, 2024

South Korea flies fighters near border over North Korean spy satellite alarm

South Korea on Monday staged an air exercise near the inter-Korean border in response to an announcement from North Korea that it would launch a military reconnaissance satellite within the next seven days. According to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, the drills involving some 20 fighter jets -- including F-15Ks, KF-16s and the stealth F-35As -- were carried out in the skies south of the no-fly zone from around 1 p.m. Col. Lee Sung-jun, the South Korean JCS spokesperson, said in a pre

May 27, 2024

S. Korea completes development of L-SAM defense system

South Korea has completed development of the homegrown Long-range Surface-to-Air Missile (L-SAM) system, the state arms procurement agency said Saturday, marking a major step in efforts to bolster the military's air defense capabilities. The L-SAM, which is designed to shoot down incoming targets at altitudes of 50-60 kilometers, was recently assessed as combat-suitable as it met the military's technical requirements, according to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA).

May 25, 2024

S. Korea, US hold 2nd round of talks on defense cost sharing

South Korea and the United States held a new round of negotiations Tuesday on sharing the costs for stationing American troops here. The three-day talks through Thursday are aimed at determining how much Seoul should shoulder for the upkeep of the 28,500-strong US Forces Korea, starting in 2026. The talks are led by Lee Tae-woo, South Korea's chief negotiator from the foreign ministry, and his US counterpart, Linda Specht from the State Department. Tuesday's negotiations took place at

May 21, 2024

1 dead, 1 wounded in grenade explosion during Army boot camp training

A hand grenade explosion killed one recruit and severely wounded a noncommissioned officer during a training session held at an Army boot camp in the administrative city of Sejong, officials said Tuesday. “Around 9:50 a.m. on Tuesday, an accident involving a hand grenade explosion occurred during grenade throwing training at (the Army's 32nd Infantry Division) in South Chungcheong Province,” the Republic of Korea Army said in a statement released via text message to reporters. &

May 21, 2024

S. Korea, US to hold 2nd round of talks on defense cost sharing

South Korea and the United States began a new round of negotiations Tuesday on sharing the costs for stationing American troops here. The three-day talks through Thursday are aimed at determining how much Seoul should shoulder for the upkeep of the 28,500-strong US Forces Korea, starting in 2026. The talks were led by Lee Tae-woo, South Korea's chief negotiator from the foreign ministry, and his US counterpart, Linda Specht from the State Department. The first round of the talks took place

May 21, 2024

South Korean army chief meets with ally counterparts in US trip

The South Korean army said Monday its chief of staff Gen. Park An-su met with his US, Japanese and Australian counterparts during his eight-day trip to the US, for talks on North Korea deterrence. At the annual Land Forces Pacific Symposium in Hawaii on May 14-16, Park participated in a panel discussion alongside the commanding general of the US Army Pacific Gen. Charles Flynn, Gen. Yasunori Morishita of the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force and Lt. Gen. Simon Stuart of the Army Australia. The

May 20, 2024

US Air Force blames power loss, weather for F-16 crash in S. Korea in May 2023

A US F-16 fighter jet crash incident in South Korea in May of last year occurred due to a partial power loss experienced by the aircraft and weather conditions at the time, a US Air Force unit stationed in the country said Friday. On May 6, 2023, the single-engine fighter jet assigned to the 8th Fighter Wing (FW) of the US 7th Air Force crashed into farmland near Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, 60 kilometers south of Seoul, shortly after take-off. The pilot ejected safely, with no serious injuries

May 17, 2024

Seoul weighs establishing first military medical school

South Korea’s Defense Ministry said Thursday it is mulling the establishment of an inaugural military medical school to secure doctors who would serve in the military for at least 10 years in an effort to improve the military medical system and enhance treatment capabilities. "The Defense Ministry has been actively promoting and reviewing measures aimed at enhancing military medical capabilities, including the recruitment of long-term service military surgeons and the specialization o

May 16, 2024

S. Korea, US to hold 2nd round of defense cost sharing talks next week

South Korea and the United States will hold their second round of negotiations in Seoul next week on the sharing of the costs for the upkeep of American soldiers stationed here, Seoul officials said Thursday. The talks, set for Tuesday through Thursday, come about a month after the allies launched the negotiations on determining how much Seoul should shoulder for the stationing of the 28,500-strong US Forces Korea. The first round of the SMA talks took place in Hawaii. The current six-year deal,

May 16, 2024

Several US F-22 stealth jets arrive in S. Korea

A number of F-22 stealth jets from the US Air Force arrived in South Korea earlier this week, a Pentagon website showed Tuesday, raising the possibility of a joint air drill involving the latest air assets. The US 8th Fighter Wing posted a photo showing the arrival of F-22 stealth jets at Kunsan Air Base in Gunsan, 178 kilometers south of Seoul, on the Pentagon's Defense Visual Information Distribution Service website. "The Raptors' arrival, demonstrates the Pacific Air Forces

May 14, 2024

S. Korea to stage drills against large-scale aerial attack

The military will stage an air exercise Tuesday aimed at defending against a large-scale aerial attack amid renewed attention to air defense capabilities in the wake of Iran's massive drone and missile attack on Israel. The drills will be led by the Air Force Operations Command and joined by Army, Navy and Marine Corps units across the country, according to the Air Force. Some 30 aircraft, including F-35A fighters, as well as various air defense assets, including the Patriot and Cheongung m

May 14, 2024

Ex-Marine division chief returns home after 22-hr questioning over conscript's death

A former division commander of the Marine Corps returned home Tuesday following 22 hours of police questioning in connection with the death of a young Marine conscript during a search operation for downpour victims in July last year. Lim Seong-geun, former commander of the Marine Corps 1st Division, is the highest-ranking Marine official questioned as part of the investigation into the death of a Marine conscript, surnamed Chae, who was swept away by a torrent during a search for missing flood v

May 14, 2024

Key S. Korean, USFK special operations officials to hold rare meeting amid NK threats

The military is planning to hold a rare meeting between major South Korean and US Forces Korea special operations officials later this month to discuss ways to improve special warfare capabilities amid North Korea's threats, Seoul's defense ministry said Tuesday. South Korea operates special forces units separately under the Army, the Navy, the Air Force and the Marine Corps, and regularly stages combined drills with US Special Operations Command Korea troops, but holding a meeting between all o

May 14, 2024

[Graphic News] Only 34% of S. Korean elites favor nuclear arms

About a third of South Korean academics, experts and other elites support nuclearization of their country, a US think tank poll showed, a finding that contrasts with greater support shown in surveys of the general public. The Center for Strategic and International Studies released a report on the outcome of the poll conducted with over 1,000 “strategic elites” in South Korea from Jan. 15 to March 17. The report, titled “Breaking Bad, South Korea’s Nuclear Option,”

May 14, 2024

Yoon names new military manpower chief

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has approved the appointment of Kim Jong-cheol, the incumbent deputy chief of the Presidential Security Service, as the new commissioner of the Military Manpower Administration as of Monday, Yoon's office announced on Sunday. Kim becomes the second head of the governmental body responsible for conscription, call-ups, and other military administration under the Yoon presidency. According to the presidential office, Kim is described as a "military adm

May 12, 2024

South Korea open to Indonesian proposal to cut KF-21 payments

South Korea is leaning toward accepting the proposed cuts by Indonesia in its share of KF-21 fighter development costs, according to the government’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration on Wednesday. The DAPA said that the reduction in the Indonesian contribution to the joint project was expected to translate into less of a financial burden than speculated by the press, explaining that expenses could be cut down considerably over the process. At its onset, the project was calculated

May 8, 2024

Indonesia’s KF-21 fighter jet deal cut back -- what’s next?

Indonesia’s latest proposal to slash its share of the costs for the joint project to develop the South Korean KF-21 fighter jet appears to have left South Korea with no option but to cover the remainder. According to South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration on Tuesday, the Indonesian side has proposed to pay one-third of its agreed share -- which is about 600 billion won ($441 million) -- by the deadline about two years from now. The proposal came after Indonesia ha

May 7, 2024

Veterans minister to visit France, Germany this week

Veterans Minister Kang Jung-ai will visit France and Germany this week to strengthen cooperation in veterans affairs with countries that participated in the 1950-53 Korean War, her office said Sunday. Kang departed for France earlier in the day for a seven-day trip that also includes a stop in Germany from Wednesday to Saturday, according to the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs. In France, she will meet Christian Cambon, a member of the French Senate, to discuss bilateral cooperation on

May 5, 2024

Defense chiefs of US, Australia, Japan decry NK-Russia military cooperation

The defense chiefs of the United States, Australia and Japan denounced growing military cooperation between North Korea and Russia, including their weapons transactions, during their trilateral talks in Hawaii this week, according to a joint statement released Friday. US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and his Australian and Japanese counterparts, Richard Marles and Minoru Kihara, held the meeting on Thursday to discuss a range of regional and global issues, including North Korea, Russia'

May 4, 2024