Army vows to speed up establishment of 'dronebot' combat system

Army Chief of Staff Gen. Nam Yeong-shin vowed Tuesday to accelerate the establishment of a drone robot-based combat system to enhance its capabilities in evolving battle environments. "The dronebot combat system will be one of the Army's core capabilities in the future. We will strive further for its early deployment in close cooperation with the government, related industries and the academic circle," Nam said during a forum on military drones held at the military headquarters in the

April 13, 2021

Two Army members test positive for new coronavirus

An Army officer and a soldier tested positive for the new coronavirus, the defense ministry said Tuesday, the latest in a series of infections among service members across the nation. The officer stationed in the southeastern city of Gyeongsan was confirmed to have been infected after showing symptoms while on vacation, according to the ministry. The soldier of an Army unit in the eastern city of Wonju also underwent a COVID-19 test after coming into close contact with a civilian, who later

April 13, 2021

Weapons on Korean fighter jet ready by 2028

South Korea’s first homegrown fighter jet, the KF-21 Boramae, will be ready to fly with weapons aboard by 2028, the arms procurement agency said Sunday. “We will come up with air-to-air missiles by 2026 and air-to-surface missiles by 2028,” the Defense Acquisition Program Administration said. The fighter jet, whose prototype was revealed to the public Friday, will have to go through flight tests through 2026 and become combat ready by 2032. It provides an opportunity for Kore

April 12, 2021

Military extends antivirus scheme for three weeks

The defense ministry on Monday extended the current social distancing rules for the military, which allow service members to take vacation in a limited manner, for three weeks. The Level 2 scheme, which was supposed to expire Sunday, will be in place until May 2 in line with the government's guidance, according to the ministry. Under the Level 2 scheme, troops are allowed to go on vacation while strictly adhering to antivirus measures, such as a mandatory quarantine and coronavirus tests. Up t

April 12, 2021

Army soldier tests positive for virus

An Army soldier has tested positive for the new coronavirus after a vacation, the defense ministry said Friday. The soldier, based in Yanggu, some 175 kilometers northeast of Seoul, was confirmed to have contracted COVID-19 while in quarantine upon returning from a vacation, according to the ministry. Some 40 people at the base who had contact with the soldier have all tested negative. The latest case raised the total number of infections reported among the military population to 671. Nationw

April 9, 2021

USFK reports 2 additional coronavirus cases

An American service member and a South Korean contractor working for US Forces Korea (USFK) have tested positive for the new coronavirus, according to the US military. The service member, on a temporary duty to USFK, was confirmed Wednesday to have contracted COVID-19 in a virus test conducted prior to his return to his permanent duty station off the Korean Peninsula, it said. On the same day, a South Korean contractor who works at Camp Casey in Dongducheon, 40 kilometers north of Seoul, was

April 9, 2021

Defense chiefs of S. Korea, Indonesia affirm fighter deal cooperation

The South Korean and Indonesian defense chiefs said that their deal to build Korea’s first homegrown fighter jets together represents a relationship based on trust, and that they should build on the legacy to expand exchanges, at a face-to-face meeting in Seoul on Thursday. The KF-X program, in which Indonesia seeks a 20 percent share and technology know-how while Korea holds the rest, is set to reveal its prototype jet early this month, but Indonesia has so far paid just $22 million

April 8, 2021

S. Korea replaces Marine Corps chief

Maj. Gen. Kim Tae-sung, the first Marine division commander, was tapped as the top commandant of the armed service in a regular reshuffle, the defense ministry said Thursday. He will replace Lt. Gen. Lee Seung-do, who led the Marine Corps since April 2019. The 54-year-old officer has served various positions in the service branch after his graduation from the Republic of Korea Naval Academy. "As an expert in Marine operations and strategy fields, the nominee has a strategic insight and c

April 8, 2021

3 US service members, dependent test positive for virus

Three American service members and a dependent have tested positive for the new coronavirus upon their arrival here in the past two weeks, US Forces Korea (USFK) said Thursday. Two of the service members arrived at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, some 70 kilometers south of Seoul, on US government chartered flights, while the others traveled via commercial flights, according to the US military. "Thorough cleaning of all transportation assets and quarantine rooms has been completed," USF

April 8, 2021

Arms procurement agency on alert over series of COVID-19 infections

A military officer working for the arms procurement agency tested positive for the new coronavirus, the latest in a series of confirmed cases there, the defense ministry said Thursday. The officer of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) has been in isolation after coming into close contact with his colleague who earlier tested positive, according to the ministry. Since last week, the agency has reported six COVID-19 cases, including the latest one. All of them worked at a same

April 8, 2021

S. Korean, EU defense chiefs affirm cooperation on NK

The South Korean and European Union defense chiefs agreed to cooperate on Seoul’s initiative to engage North Korea in talks to dismantle its nuclear weapons program, at a face-to-face meeting in Seoul on Wednesday. Defense Minister Suh Wook and Gen. Claudio Graziano, chairman of the EU Military Committee, discussed expanding ties to deal with security concerns on the Korean Peninsula and in the surrounding regions. Graziano, who represents the defense chiefs of the 27-member EU, reports t

April 7, 2021

Korea confident of fighter deal despite default

Indonesia is defaulting on a deal with South Korea to build Korea’s first homegrown fighter jets, sitting on its contribution to the project worth at least 8 trillion won ($7.1 billion), but Seoul is confident that it could manage the undertaking without the Southeast Asian country. The KF-X program, in which Indonesia seeks a 20 percent share and technology know-how while Korea holds the rest, is set to reveal its prototype jet early this month, but Indonesia has so far paid just $2

April 6, 2021

Cabinet approves recently concluded S. Korea-US defense cost sharing deal

South Korea's Cabinet approved a recently concluded defense cost sharing deal with the United States on Tuesday, a foreign ministry official said, noting that the government will request parliamentary consent for it at an early date. Last month, the two countries concluded the deal, under which Seoul is to pay 1.183 trillion won ($1.05 billion) this year, up from 1.038 trillion won in 2019, for the upkeep of the 28,500-strong US Forces Korea (USFK). The government is expected to request the Na

April 6, 2021

Contentious US missile shield back in limelight

Delays in building a US base in South Korea to host the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense anti-missile system have been a fact of life for the past four years. But the two allies may soon find themselves at odds as Washington demands better living conditions for its personnel handling the THAAD system. In April 2017, South Korea brought in a THAAD battery to counter mounting threats from North Korea. But the living accommodations for the soldiers who live at the site remain inadequate, as Sou

April 5, 2021

S. Korea, Indonesia pushing for defense ministerial talks

South Korea is in talks with Indonesia to set up defense ministerial talks on the occasion of an upcoming rollout ceremony showcasing a prototype of South Korea's first indigenous fighter jet this month, the defense ministry said Monday. Whether Indonesia, a partner for the KF-X project, will send senior officials to the rollout ceremony has been a focus of attention as it could be a sign the country remains committed to the joint project amid speculation it is seeking to quit the business. So

April 5, 2021

Defense ministry rejects Japan's renewed claims over Dokdo islets

South Korea's defense ministry on Monday flatly dismissed Japan's renewed territorial claims to the country's easternmost islets of Dokdo, saying Seoul does not even have to repeat explanations on the matter. Last week, the Japanese government approved 296 textbooks for first-year high school students, including 30 kinds for social studies subjects, which contain Tokyo's sovereignty claims to Dokdo. "I think it needs no explanations, but Dokdo is South Korea's inherent territory historica

April 5, 2021

2 soldiers, arms procurement agency official test positive for virus

Two Army soldiers and an arms procurement agency official have tested positive for the new coronavirus, the defense ministry said Monday. A soldier in the southeastern city of Daegu was confirmed to have contracted COVID-19 while on vacation before discharge, according to the ministry. Over the weekend, another soldier in the border town of Cheorwon tested positive while in quarantine after a vacation, and an official at the Defense Acquisition Program Administration in Gwacheon, just south of

April 5, 2021

Military to resume search for Korean War remains

South Korea’s military and an international recovery team led by the UN Command will resume an annual search for the remains of Korean and UN soldiers missing from the 1950-53 Korean War, the Ministry of National Defense said Thursday. The excavation project, which lasts from April to November annually, will begin Monday. The search has been held since 2019, a year after South and North Korea agreed to a military pact singed to end hostilities in the inter-Korean border.　 The command is

April 1, 2021

Defense ministry voices confidence in probe results of deadly Cheonan ship sinking

The defense ministry said Thursday that it trusts the results of a civilian-military joint probe blaming North Korea for the 2010 sinking of a South Korean warship, after a presidential committee decided to revisit the case following a petition. On March 26, 2020, the warship Cheonan went down near the Northern Limit Line (NLL), the de facto maritime border between the two Koreas, killing 46 sailors. After an extensive probe by the joint investigation group involving international experts, So

April 1, 2021

S. Korea to invest W7tr for Aegis destroyers, attack helicopters

South Korea’s arms procurement agency said Wednesday that it will invest about 7 trillion won ($6.19 billion) to build three more Aegis destroyers and buy 36 American-made attack helicopters as part of a long-term initiative to bolster its military capabilities. The Navy is seeking to produce Aegis destroyers with better ballistic missile defense in upgrades to its Sejong class destroyer, the country’s first Aegis warship commissioned in 2008. The Navy expects to build the new destr

April 1, 2021