Military to use Samsung smartphone-based combat information device

The military will introduce a Samsung smartphone-based combat information device on a trial basis next year that will enable troops to view real-time battle information without relying on communications networks. The Defense Acquisition Program Administration said it has signed a contract with LIG Nex1 Co. to buy the individual combat equipment for the Army and the Marine Corps, which will allow troops to communicate, sharing intelligence and battle situations, without a separate communications

Dec. 4, 2020

US Army Pacific commander named new USFK chief: sources

US Army Pacific Commander Gen. Paul LaCamera has been nominated to be the next commander of the US Forces Korea (USFK), sources said Friday. If confirmed, LaCamera will succeed Gen. Robert Abrams to lead the 28,500 American troops based in South Korea, as well as to take the helm of the UN Command and the South Korea-US Combined Forces Command. Abrams took office in November 2018. The nomination is part of a routine reshuffle, though no official term of office is set for a USFK commander, the

Dec. 4, 2020

Budget for veterans affairs rises 2.7% to W5.8tr next year

Korea's budget for patriots and veterans rose 2.7 percent on-year to 5.8 trillion won ($5.29 billion) in 2021, the veterans affairs ministry said Thursday. The amount approved by the National Assembly the previous day is slightly higher than the 5.79 trillion won the government requested, as the budget for subsidies to veterans of the 1950-53 Korean War and the families of patriots who fought against the 1910-45 Japanese colonial rule rose during a parliamentary review, according to the ministr

Dec. 3, 2020

S. Korea's defense budget rises 5.4 percent to W52.8tr in 2021

South Korea's defense budget for next year rose 5.4 percent on-year as the country strives to boost its self-defense capabilities amid growing security uncertainties and nontraditional challenges, such as infectious diseases, the defense ministry said Wednesday.    According to the budget plan approved by the National Assembly, military spending for 2021 was set at 52.8 trillion won ($48 billion), up from this year's 50.15 trillion won.    The approved amount is slightly l

Dec. 2, 2020

Navy's new frigates to have Rolls-Royce engine

Rolls-Royce said Wednesday it has won a deal to supply marine gas turbines to South Korea's new 3,500-ton frigates to be built by Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. by 2024. The MT30, tapped for the Ulsan-class FFX Batch III frigates, has already been in service with several navies around the world, including in South Korea's Daegu-class FFX Batch II frigates, according to the company. "The use of the MT30 across the Batch II and Batch III frigates will deliver commonality benefits to the custo

Dec. 2, 2020

S. Korea to deploy suicide UAVs, advanced attack drones on trial next year

The military plans to deploy suicide unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and gun-shooting drones on a trial basis next year under a rapid acquisition project aimed at better responding to fast-evolving future battle environments, the arms procurement agency said Wednesday. The Defense Acquisition Program Administration said it has signed contracts with companies to acquire three types of advanced attack drones -- the suicide UAVs, drones that fire guns at ground targets and small-sized drones with

Dec. 2, 2020

Military becomes more tolerant of tattoos, obesity

Heavily tattooed South Korean men will no longer be able to avoid active-duty military service. Under the current rules, those bearing many tattoos or who upset other people by having tattoos on certain body parts can get grade four, for non-active duty, or supplemental service, on their physical exams. This has led some to get tattoos to avoid active duty, which is for men who get grades one through three on the physical exams. Instead of serving in the military, non-active-duty personnel wo

Dec. 1, 2020

[Contribution] The story of India in the Korean War

  India became a member of the United Nations when the organization was founded on Oct. 24, 1945. Established to ensure world peace -- among other goals -- after a ruinous World War, the UN has had a mixed track record. One of its successes, however, was the bringing of the Korean War to a close. That war was, interestingly, the first commitment to a UN assignment by an independent India and the Indian Army. The Korean War began on June 25, 1950 and would rage for three long years betwe

Nov. 29, 2020

S. Korea to develop big data collection and analysis system for military logistics by 2025

The defense ministry plans to develop a "big data" collection and analysis system to more efficiently take advantage of diverse and scattered data so as to make better policy for military operations and troops. Currently, the military has vast amounts of data on more than 1.4 million items related to the management of troops, arms procurement and other defense supplies field, and there has been a growing need for a platform to better manage them using advanced technologies, according

Nov. 29, 2020

Military bans troops from vacationing, off-base trips over resurgent virus

The military enforced a tighter social distancing scheme on Friday banning troops from vacationing and taking off-installation trips as it is striving to stem the spread of the new coronavirus at barracks. Under the Level 2.5 social distancing guidance at barracks, all service members are not allowed to leave their bases for the next two weeks. Officers are restricted from having private meetings, while in-person religious gatherings and business trips are also banned. As for drills, necessar

Nov. 27, 2020

S. Korea identifies remains of two Korean War soldiers

South Korea has identified the remains of two soldiers killed in the 1950-53 Korean War through DNA analysis after they were recovered from fiercely fought battle sites, the defense ministry said Friday. The remains of Song Hae-kyung were excavated last month from Arrowhead Ridge inside the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas in Cheorwon, according to the ministry. He is presumed to have died in July 1953 just 16 days before the armistice was signed. Excavation inside the DMZ b

Nov. 27, 2020

[Newsmaker] ‘Loose screws on border fence sensors disabled alarm’

A North Korean refugee was able to jump over the 3-meter fence along the inter-Korean border to the South without triggering the alarm because screws were loose on the fence’s sensors, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said Thursday. The military revealed the initial finding of its internal investigation into the event early this month, in which a former gymnast in his 20s crossed the border on foot. Sensors on the border fences along the general outposts, south of the demarcati

Nov. 26, 2020

Military bans all off-base travel for soldiers amid COVID-19 spike

South Korea’s military said Thursday it has banned all off-base travel for soldiers until Dec. 7. Officers are instructed to cancel or delay all non-duty meetings and outside activities. Vacations are suspended from Friday. The military’s antivirus rules, announced Tuesday for soldiers in the Greater Seoul area, were expanded to cover the rest of the nation after a cluster infection involving 70 service members -- mostly conscripts -- at a boot camp in northern Gyeonggi Province al

Nov. 26, 2020

S. Korea deploys upgraded surface-to-air intercept missile

A newly upgraded interceptor missile, often dubbed the Korean equivalent of the US-made Patriot missile defense system, has been delivered to the military, the arms procurement agency said Thursday. Cheongung II, the upgraded version of the country's first indigenously developed medium-range surface-to-air guided missile of the same name, is equipped with multifunction radar to strike aircraft and missiles simultaneously, according to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration. The Agenc

Nov. 26, 2020

Military to ban all troops from vacationing, off-installation trips over virus concerns

The military decided to temporarily ban all troops from vacationing and taking off-installation trips after cluster infections were reported at an Army boot camp amid a nationwide spike in virus cases, the defense ministry said Thursday. Until Dec. 7, all troops will be subject to tightened social distancing rules in barracks, with vacationing and off-installation visits to be suspended starting Friday, according to the ministry. Officers are restricted from having private meetings, while in-p

Nov. 26, 2020

S. Korea, Indonesia reaffirm commitment to cooperation in defense industry

Senior defense officials of South Korea and Indonesia have held a videoconference and reaffirmed their commitment for cooperation in the defense industry, Seoul's arms procurement agency said Wednesday. During the annual consultations session held Tuesday, the two sides agreed to beef up cooperation to protect defense technologies and discussed other pending issues, according to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration. Maj. Gen. Sung Il, an international cooperation officer at the agenc

Nov. 25, 2020

[Newsmaker] Seoul area soldiers could miss vacation, off-base visits

Soldiers based in the Greater Seoul area could see their vacation and off-base leave suspended under the military’s tightened antivirus measures that went into effect Tuesday. The military began enforcing tougher rules in the capital for two weeks through Dec. 3, in line with government-imposed Level 2 social distancing guidelines in the area. The country, in the onset of a third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, reported 349 cases in 24 hours ending at midnight on Monday. All servic

Nov. 24, 2020

S. Korea to develop indigenous robot for explosives detection, removal

South Korea's arms procurement agency signed a contract commissioning a local defense firm to develop a robot capable of detecting and removing land mines and other explosives with indigenous technology, officials said Tuesday. Under the 18 billion-won ($16 million) project, Hanwha Defense plans to develop a robot capable of patrolling the mine-strewn Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) on the border with North Korea and other dangerous areas, detecting and eliminating explosives, according to the Defense

Nov. 24, 2020

Troops in greater Seoul area under tighter anti-coronavirus scheme

The defense ministry on Tuesday began enforcing tougher social distancing rules for service members in the Seoul metropolitan area in line with the government's elevation of the antivirus scheme. Under the social distancing scheme of Level 2, vacations and one-day off-installation trips are primarily restricted. Visits to nightlife facilities continue to be banned, and service members are not allowed to visit religious facilities outside their bases, according to the ministry. The Level 2 gui

Nov. 24, 2020

US security advisor says Korea-US ties will remain strong 'whoever the president is'

US National Security Advisor Robert O'Brien said Monday that the decadeslong relationship between Seoul and Washington will remain strong "whoever" is inaugurated as president in January. In a telephone conference with reporters during his visit to Manila, O'Brien also voiced hope that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will eventually live up to his denuclearization commitment, amid worries Pyongyang could undertake provocations to test the incoming Joe Biden administration. "What

Nov. 23, 2020