Military toughens distancing rules as COVID-19 cases rise

On Monday, South Korea’s military raised the social distancing rules in Greater Seoul to Level 1.5, a notch higher than its least restrictive level now, as coronavirus cases started rising. The military imposed tougher Level 2 rules in neighboring Gangwon Province.　 Effective Tuesday through Nov. 29, all military personnel are instructed not to visit entertainment facilities and to reduce on-duty travel and meetings. Those living near infection clusters in Seoul and neighboring Gangwon P

Nov. 16, 2020

Defense minister meets US Army chief, discusses alliance, cooperation

Defense Minister Suh Wook met with US Army Chief of Staff Gen. James McConville Tuesday and discussed ways to further boost military cooperation and the bilateral alliance, Seoul's defense ministry said. McConville arrived in South Korea late Monday for a three-day stay as part of his Asian trip, according to military officials. During the meeting in Seoul, Suh noted the US Army's contribution to the peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula and Northeast Asia and asked for close coordinati

Nov. 16, 2020

S. Korea should send strong message to N. Korea. not to make provocations: ex-UN chief

South Korea should send strong message to North Korea to make it refrain from provocations, former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Friday, amid speculation Pyongyang could soon launch missiles to test the incoming Joe Biden administration. Ban made the remark in a keynote speech at a seminar in Seoul, saying the North's denuclearization issue is likely to be back "on a rollercoaster" following the inauguration of Joe Biden as the next US President. "There is a possibility

Nov. 13, 2020

S. Korea completes deployment of K-9 howitzer

South Korea has completed the deployment of the K-9 self-propelled howitzer, about 20 years after it was first put into force in the country, the arms procurement agency said Friday. Manufactured by Hanwha Defense, a South Korean defense firm, the 155-millimeter K-9 artillery gun was first deployed on the western border islands of Yeonpyeong and Baengnyeong in 1999. South Korea plans to continue to improve its capabilities, including its navigation equipment and operating system, and add remot

Nov. 13, 2020

Seoul in talks with Washington for communications with acting defense secretary

South Korea is in talks with the United States to continue close coordination on pending alliance issues following the appointment of Christopher Miller as the US acting defense secretary, Seoul's defense ministry said Thursday. On Monday, US President Donald Trump fired his defense chief, Mark Esper, just days after his election defeat to former Vice President Joe Biden. Esper was sworn in as secretary of defense in June last year. "We consider it a natural matter to communicate with t

Nov. 12, 2020

S. Korea to launch online education for reserve forces

South Korea will open a two-hour online course for reserve forces next week, the defense ministry said Thursday, after their annual field training was called off due to the coronavirus pandemic. The training sessions for the country's 2.75 million-strong forces were supposed to kick off in September, but the government decided not to conduct the field programs as part of nationwide efforts to stem the spread of the virus. From Monday to Feb. 21, volunteers for the distance learning can take c

Nov. 12, 2020

Air Force officer indicted on bribery charges in 'emperor-like' military service case

Military prosecutors indicted an Air Force major Tuesday on charges of giving preferential treatment to an enlisted airman under his supervision, such as granting him frequent off-base trips, in return for expensive meals from his father, the Air Force said. Military investigators looked into the "emperor-like" military service case after allegations surfaced earlier this year that the staff sergeant enjoyed a variety of privileges, including having a noncommissioned officer do errand

Nov. 10, 2020

S. Korea launches new 3,000-ton-class SLBM submarine

GEOJE -- South Korea launched a new 3,000-ton-class indigenous submarine on Tuesday capable of firing submarine-launched ballistic missiles in an effort to boost underwater defense capabilities. The ceremony for the mid-class diesel-powered submarine, named after a prominent Korean independent fighter, Ahn Mu, took place at the Okpo Shipyard of Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering Co. in the southeastern city of Geoje. It is the second of three 3,000-ton-class Changbogo-III Batch-I subm

Nov. 10, 2020

Army secures new medical evacuation helicopters

The arms procurement agency said Monday it completed the delivery of new medical helicopters to the Army last week to improve the military's capabilities to carry out evacuations of troops and citizens in emergency situations. The chopper was developed from 2014 to 2016 by adding emergency medical service equipment on South Korea's indigenous multi-role helicopter Surion, according to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration. It is capable of transporting six patients, including two in

Nov. 9, 2020

S. Korea to mark Korean War anniversary with veterans

The Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs is hosting two days of events in Busan this week to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Korean War with UN veterans and dignitaries from their home countries. Twenty-two countries joined the US-led UN coalition and South Korea to counter an invasion from China-backed North Korea in the 1950-53 conflict that ended with an armistice, leaving the two Koreas technically still at war. On Tuesday, an international conference comprising delegates fro

Nov. 9, 2020

Korean, Malaysian military chiefs agree to boost defense cooperation

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Won In-choul held a video call with his Malaysian counterpart, Gen. Affendi Bin Buang, on Tuesday and vowed to strengthen exchanges and cooperation in the defense field, Won's office said. During the 30-minute dialogue, the two military leaders discussed responses to the new coronavirus and ways to further deepen their bilateral relationship, according to the JCS. Congratulating Won on his inauguration, the Malaysian general voiced hope for str

Nov. 3, 2020

S. Korea does not need extra missile defense: ex-US commander

South Korea would need no extra American anti-missile defense against North Korea because the existing ones would work in tandem with other missile networks in place, former US Forces Korea Commander Gen. Vincent Brooks told Radio Free Asia on Monday. The retired general referred to the latest simulation test the US Missile Defense Agency conducted on Oct. 1, where a Patriot missile took down incoming fire using the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense radars. Seoul maintains a missile defense

Nov. 3, 2020

S. Korea establishes first Air Force reconnaissance wing for Global Hawk, other key assets

South Korea launched a new Air Force unit Tuesday in charge of operating the country's key reconnaissance assets, such as the RQ-4 Global Hawk aircraft, in a move to enhance the country's capabilities to monitor threats from North Korea and beyond, officials said. As the country's first reconnaissance wing, the 39th Reconnaissance Wing stationed at an air base in the central city of Chungju will operate five types of key Air Force reconnaissance assets, including the advanced unmanned Global H

Nov. 3, 2020

US flies reconnaissance plane near inter-Korean border: aviation tracker

A US reconnaissance plane flew over areas close to the inter-Korean border, an aviation tracker showed Monday, in an apparent move to monitor North Korean military movements ahead of the US presidential election this week.    The US Navy's EP-3E aircraft was spotted flying over areas in northern Gyeonggi Province, including the border city of Paju, as well as Incheon and Siheung, according to the tracker, No callsign.    The plane was previously seen conducting a reconnaiss

Nov. 2, 2020

[News Focus] Steve Yoo starts 2nd legal battle over entry ban

Korean American singer Steve Seung Jun Yoo, known here as Yoo Seung-jun, is waging yet another legal battle to win his way back into South Korea, his birth country. The Korean-born singer has repeatedly appealed to the Korean government to lift the entry ban imposed on him in 2002 after he obtained US citizenship, an action viewed by officials here as an attempt to dodge mandatory military duty required of all capable Korean men. And things still look gloomy for Yoo. In March this year, th

Nov. 2, 2020

S. Korean Marines announce first female chopper pilot

A female Marine Corps officer has been assigned to an aviation battalion after completing training as a helicopter pilot, becoming the Marines' first-ever female chopper pilot, officials said Sunday. Lieutenant Cho Sang-ah, 27, was assigned to Marine Corps' 1st Division 1st Battalion as a chopper pilot after successfully completing 9 months of training. This marks the first time a female helicopter pilot was stationed at the Marines in the 71 years since its 1949 establishment. Commissioned in

Nov. 1, 2020

Hyundai Heavy to be chosen as preferred bidder for Aegis destroyer project

The arms procurement agency plans to pick Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. as a preferred bidder for an indigenous Aegis-equipped destroyer development project despite a suspected leak of classified information by military officers to the company, officials said Friday. Several Navy officers now stand trial, as they allegedly allowed Hyundai officials in 2014 to secretly film confidential documents related to the Korea Destroyer Next Generation (KDDX) project to build a next-generation 6,000 ton-c

Oct. 30, 2020

S. Korea awards medals to USFK members to celebrate alliance

South Korea on Thursday presented medals to seven US Forces Korea members who are descendants of Korean War veterans, in an event to mark the 70th anniversary of the outbreak of the conflict, the defense ministry said. Defense Minister Suh Wook hosted the ROK-US Alliance Remembrance and Appreciation Event at Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, 70 kilometers south of Seoul. ROK stands for South Korea's official name, the Republic of Korea. About 28,500 American troops are stationed in South Korea to

Oct. 29, 2020

Military says annual defense drill is defensive in nature amid NK criticism

The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said Thursday an annual military exercise under way across the country is defensive in nature after North Korean propaganda outlets denounced it as an intolerable provocation. South Korea kicked off the Hoguk exercise on Oct. 19, involving the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps, staging various programs including joint landing drills. On Monday, DPRK Today, one of the North's propaganda websites, bristled at the exercise, saying it represents "yet anot

Oct. 29, 2020

Paraguay airport adopts S. Korean military lab-made COVID-19 test kit

Silvio Pettirossi International Airport in Paraguay will use a coronavirus test kit developed by a South Korean military lab, South Korea’s Armed Forces Medical Command said Wednesday. The command’s medical research lab came up with the technology called the Face Infection Control System in May, and a local firm has commercialized it. The kit is faster and cheaper in screening for the coronavirus than the popular polymerase chain reaction test, which amplifies a small sample of DNA

Oct. 28, 2020