US accepts S. Korea’s offer to bear wage costs of Korean USFK workers

The United States has accepted South Korea’s initial offer to cover the wages of its citizens employed by the US Forces Korea until the year-end, inching forward in the prolonged defense cost-sharing negotiations, according to officials Wednesday. “The Department of Defense has accepted the Republic of Korea’s (ROK) proposal to fund the labor costs for all US Forces Korea (USFK) Korean National (KN) employees through the end of 2020,” the US Department of Defense said i

June 3, 2020

W300b of defense budget to be cut for extra spending over coronavirus

The government is seeking to slash about 300 billion won ($244.96 million) from this year's defense budget to fund an extra spending plan aimed at coping with the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, the defense ministry said Wednesday. The planned cut is to fund a third extra budget of 35.3 trillion won by readjusting this year's annual budget and issuing state bonds to cushion the economic fallout from COVID-19. A total of 315.8 billion won is expected to be reduced, 153.6 billi

June 3, 2020

Pentagon accepts S. Korea's proposal to fund labor costs for Korean USFK workers on furlough

WASHINGTON/SEOUL -- The US defense department said Tuesday it has accepted South Korea's proposal to fund the labor costs for all Koreans working for the US Forces Korea (USFK) amid their stalled defense cost-sharing talks. The decision will end the furloughs that the US military has given to more than 4,000 South Korean employees since April 1, citing the lack of a new Special Measures Agreement (SMA) that stipulates how much Seoul would pay for the upkeep of the 28,500-strong USFK, includin

June 3, 2020

Newly assigned American soldier tests positive for coronavirus; total infections at 31

An American soldier newly assigned to South Korea has tested positive for the coronavirus, the US Forces Korea said Monday. The latest COVID-19 patient brought the total number of infections among troops, their families and those working for the US military here to 31. The service member arrived at Incheon International Airport on Saturday on a commercial flight, and was transported to mandatory quarantine at a facility on Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, some 70 kilometers south of Seoul, accor

June 1, 2020

S. Korea to send masks to independence fighters abroad

A total of 25,000 masks will be delivered to Korean independence fighters who engaged in military and diplomatic campaigns against Japan’s 1910-45 occupation of the Korean Peninsula, to help them combat the coronavirus pandemic, the Ministry of Patriots and War Veterans said Monday. About 500 fighters and bereaved families in 15 countries will receive the supplies with a letter of gratitude from the minister. The ministry has been assisting independence fighters and war veterans to cop

June 1, 2020

Surprise transport onto THAAD base sparks suspicions over upgrade or additional deployment

The defense ministry stuck to its flat-out denial Monday of any upgrades to a US THAAD missile defense base in South Korea after a series of reports suggested that last week's transport of military hardware into the base was aimed at upgrading or strengthening the unit. On Friday, the US Forces Korea brought new interceptor missiles as well as other military hardware and equipment for facility construction onto its Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system base in the central town of

June 1, 2020

Seoul, Washington deliver new interceptor missiles onto THAAD base

New interceptor missiles were delivered to a US military base in South Korea on Friday to replace worn-out equipment, amid lingering opposition by local residents.  The Defense Ministry said it has supported the ground transportation of the replacement missiles, as well as power generators and electronic equipment for data collection, and other supplies to improve living conditions of military officials on a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense base in Seongju, North Gyeongsang Province.&n

May 29, 2020

S. Korea to kick off homegrown Aegis destroyer development project in earnest

South Korea is set to begin basic designing of an indigenous Aegis-equipped destroyer in a move to enhance the Navy's defense capabilities, the arms procurement agency said Friday. In 2018, the government decided on the Korea Destroyer Next Generation (KDDX) project to locally build 6,000 ton-class destroyers by the late 2020s to be equipped with the homegrown combat system. Following basic planning and a review of the military's requirements, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (D

May 29, 2020

[Newsmaker] Hacking attempts targeting S. Korean military info double in 2019

Hacking attempts from abroad targeting South Korean defense information nearly doubled last year, but no data was stolen, the Defense Ministry said Thursday. The number of foreign hacking attempts involving South Korea’s defense information system -- all equipment and software related to the collection, processing, storage, transmission, reception and use of military information -- surged from about 4,000 in 2017 to 5,000 in 2018 and 9,533 last year, the ministry said. Most of the IP ad

May 28, 2020

One Chinese caught after illegally entering S. Korea on small boat

The South Korean Coast Guard has arrested a Chinese national who illegally entered the country on a small boat last week, officials said Wednesday. The 43-year-old man was caught in the southwestern city of Mokpo on Tuesday, according to the Taean Coast Guard, six days after he and five other compatriots arrived in the western coastal city of Taean undetected on a 1.5-ton boat and then fled. The vessel was found abandoned belatedly on Sunday, and the coast guard and the military have been car

May 27, 2020

UNC says it is in talks with S. Korea over resumption of DMZ visits

The United Nations Command (UNC) said Wednesday it is in talks with South Korea about resuming tours to the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas suspended last year in the wake of the African swine fever outbreak. The US-led command, which administers the DMZ, said it facilitated the environment ministry's survey on African swine fever inside the Joint Security Area and other locations inside the buffer zone Monday. "These #DMZ sites remain closed to tours, but UNC & R

May 27, 2020

S. Korea to develop close-in weapon system for warships

South Korea decided Tuesday to develop an indigenous close-in weapon system (CIWS) for its warships by 2030. The Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) said the defense project promotion committee approved the 350 billion-won ($283.51 million) project that will be launched next year. The CIWS is designed to detect and destroy short range anti-ship missiles and aircraft that have penetrated outer defenses. Currently, South Korea uses the US CIWS system. The new weapon is expected t

May 26, 2020

S. Korea, US to discuss cost-sharing pact next month

South Korean Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo and US Defense Secretary Mark Esper will discuss cost sharing for the upkeep of 28,500 American troops stationed here at a teleconference next month, Seoul’s Ministry of Defense said Tuesday. “The date and agenda haven’t been finalized yet. We’re in the middle of consultations with the US,” ministry spokesperson Choi Hyun-soo told a press briefing. Seoul and Washington arranged the teleconference after the cancellati

May 26, 2020

Defense ministry to strengthen counseling for service personnel

The defense ministry said Monday it will expand counseling services for troops to help them better adjust to military life and protect their basic human rights. Counseling for service members was first introduced in 2005 with eight professional counselors. After 15 years, the number has grown to 549, according to the ministry. "By the end of this year, we will dispatch at least one counselor to all battalions or bases of that size, which will bring the total number of those officials t

May 25, 2020

Military says low possibility of abandoned boat's link to espionage

The possibility of espionage is low in relation to a 1.5-ton boat recently found abandoned on the west coast, the military said Monday. Police said Sunday that the six-seat boat was found on the beach in the western coastal city of Taean, and that they are looking for those who were on board. The discovery sparked suspicions that North Korean spies could have used the boat. But authorities said the vessel could have been used by illegal immigrants, though they are looking into the case with

May 25, 2020

Navy to send 2 destroyers to US-led RIMPAC exercise

The Navy plans to send just two destroyers to a US-led multinational maritime exercise slated to kick off near Hawaii in August, a military source said Sunday, as the biannual exercise is expected to be held in a scaled-down manner due to the new coronavirus. The Navy will send a 7,600-ton Aegis destroyer and a 4,400-ton destroyer to the Rim of the Pacific exercise (RIMPAC) scheduled for Aug. 17-31, according to the source. In 2018, South Korea sent a submarine, a patrol plane and some 700 tr

May 24, 2020

USFK again extends public health emergency status over coronavirus

US Forces Korea Commander Gen. Robert Abrams has renewed the military‘s public health emergency over the new coronavirus for another 90 days to maintain the necessary authority for implementing anti-virus measures, his office said Saturday. USFK first declared the Public Health Emergency over the COVID-19 virus on May 25 and extended the status for another month on April 24. The latest extension will keep the measure in effect through Aug. 20. “The renewed PHE enables the Commande

May 23, 2020

Military repatriates stranded citizens from Africa

Sixty South Koreans who were stranded in Africa due to suspended air travel amid the coronavirus pandemic returned home late Friday on a charter flight. South Korea’s military ran the flight Monday to rotate a batch of troops for the Hanbit Unit stationed in South Sudan, and on the way home, Korean residents in Africa boarded the plane in adjoining Ethiopia. Thirty-six had come from Ghana, 13 from Kenya, 10 from Ethiopia and 1 from Sudan. Medical and other support staff were on board to

May 22, 2020

Lew Byong-hun, 1st deputy commander of ROK-US Forces, dies at 96

Lew Byong-hun, the first deputy commander of the Combined Forces Command jointly operated by South Korea and the United States, died Thursday at age 96, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a press release. A former four-star Army general, Lew was one of the joint command’s founding members in 1978. After leaving the command a year later, he went on to serve as chairman of Korea’s JCS until 1981. US Forces Korea Commander Robert Abrams, who heads the joint command, off

May 21, 2020

S. Korea, UK vice defense chiefs vow cooperation against coronavirus

South Korean Vice Defense Minister Park Jae-min held phone talks with his British counterpart Wednesday and discussed ways to enhance cooperation in dealing with the coronavirus, the defense ministry said. During the conversation with Annabel Goldie, a life peer and minister of state at the British defense ministry, Park shared South Korea's experience in stemming the spread of COVID-19 in its initial stages and explained the military's active contribution to containing the virus. "Minis

May 20, 2020