The South Korean military on Thursday disclosed that South Korean and US special operations forces have staged monthlong “Teak Knife” military exercises since early February, practicing infiltration and precision strikes on key targets in North Korea, in an apparent warning message to North Korea. The rare disclosure came as South Korea and the US are scheduled to conduct annual, large-scale military exercises in mid-March and as North Korea has ratcheted up its bellicose rhetoric an

Defense March 2, 2023

A South Korean Unification Ministry amendment bill on the protection of North Korean defectors does not adequately guarantee their protection from forcible repatriation, a group of human rights organizations has said. They said the proposed revision gives too much discretion to the unification minister, who is appointed by the president and therefore cannot be seen as politically independent. Eight nongovernmental organizations from South Korea, Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom

North Korea Feb. 28, 2023

The South Korean unification minister on Monday said it is too early to conclude that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s daughter, Kim Ju-ae, has been appointed as the country’s next leader. But Unification Minister Kwon Young-se braced for the possibility of North Korea pursuing to position Kim Ju-ae as Kim Jong-un’s heir apparent in an interview with South Korean radio broadcaster CBS. Kwon answered that she is in a “gray zone” when asked whether he classifies her

North Korea Feb. 27, 2023

South Korea has asked the US Indo-Pacific Command to revise the US military’s reference to international waters between Japan and South Korea from the “Sea of Japan” to a neutral description, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff confirmed Thursday. The navies of South Korea, the United States and Japan conducted a trilateral missile defense exercise outside the territorial waters of South Korea and Japan on Wednesday to enhance military interoperability and readiness again

Defense Feb. 23, 2023

South Korea, the United States and Japan staged a ballistic missile defense exercise on Wednesday in international waters to enhance military interoperability and readiness against escalating threats from North Korea, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said. The five-hour trilateral drills came days after North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles and one intercontinental ballistic missile, respectively, on Monday and Feb. 18. The navies of the three countries “focused on

Defense Feb. 22, 2023

The defense chiefs of South Korea and the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday agreed to expand joint development and production of weapons, the South Korean Defense Ministry said on Wednesday. South Korean Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup and his Emirati counterpart Mohammed Ahmed Al Bowardi discussed defense and arms industry cooperation, among other pending issues, at in-person talks in Abu Dhabi, according to a statement from South Korea’s Defense Ministry. The bilateral defense ministerial me

Defense Feb. 22, 2023

The priority of South Korean defense company Korea Aerospace Industries in the Middle East is to advance the project to co-develop multirole transport aircraft with the United Arab Emirates, KAI CEO Kang Goo-young said Monday. Speaking at the region’s largest international defense exhibition in UAE capital Abu Dhabi, he said the KAI was also eyeing opportunities to export combat helicopters and fighter jets to the Middle East. Kang said the KAI’s top priority in the Middle East would

North Korea Feb. 21, 2023

North Korea on Monday fired two ballistic missiles, which the country claimed is capable of destroying an “enemy operational airfield,” a day after South Korea and the US staged combined aerial drills in a show of the alliance’s readiness to respond to Pyongyang’s launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile. The two missiles were fired toward the East Sea from the area of Sukchon County, South Pyongan Province, between 7 a.m. and 7:11 a.m. The two traveled around 390

North Korea Feb. 20, 2023

The South Korean defense chief said Friday that the military does not accept the recent court ruling acknowledging the accountability of South Korean troops for civilian carnage during the Vietnam War. Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup underscored that South Korean troops stationed in Vietnam did not commit any wartime civilian massacres, citing records and testimonies compiled by the military. “The Defense Ministry cannot agree with the court ruling,” Lee told the National Assembly&rsqu

Defense Feb. 17, 2023

South Korea and the United States will stage a tabletop exercise next week to discuss ways to develop a joint strategy and response to North Korea’s potential use of nuclear weapons amid the North’s continuing nuclear saber-rattling. The discussion-based TTX led by the alliance’s high-level Deterrence Strategy Committee will be conducted on Feb. 22 at the Pentagon in Washington, DC, South Korea’s Defense Ministry said Friday. The DSC TTX has been co-organized by South Kor

Defense Feb. 17, 2023

South Korea has redesignated the North Korean regime and its military as its “enemy” for the first time in six years, in the first defense white paper issued under the conservative Yoon Suk Yeol government. The Yoon government has decided to bring back the expression in light of North Korea’s antagonistic strategy toward South Korea, its continuing advancement of nuclear capabilities and persisting military provocations against South Korea, the Defense Ministry said Thursday. &

North Korea Feb. 16, 2023

Ukraine will never accept a cease-fire deal that requires Ukraine to cede more territory to Russia and allows the presence of Russian troops in illegally occupied territory, Vitaliy Kim, head of the regional military administration in the war-battered southern city of Mykolaiv in Ukraine, said in a joint interview with The Korea Herald and its sister publication Herald Business on Feb. 2. Kim was appointed the governor of the Mykolaiv region by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in November

Defense Feb. 16, 2023

South Korea and NATO held their first military staff-to-staff talks in Seoul to pave the way to strengthen military exchanges and cooperation, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said Tuesday. South Korea's Director for Strategy and Plans Maj. Gen. Kim Su-kwang and Staff Maj. Gen. Francesco Diella, director of the Cooperative Security Division of the NATO International Military, participated as the chief delegates in the two days of meetings that began Monday. Both sides discussed a wide r

Defense Feb. 14, 2023

North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, placed his young daughter, Kim Ju-ae, front and center at high-profile events last week, rekindling the debate on whether North Korea carves out a path to position Ju-ae as Kim’s heir apparent. Some experts said North Korea has signaled that Ju-ae has been internally decided as the next leader, while others point out Ju-ae has been used as a propaganda vehicle to send a message that nuclear weapons can protect the safety of the younger generations and high

North Korea Feb. 12, 2023

North Korea unveiled an apparent new solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile, or ICBM, at a highly choreographed military parade as expected, without its leader Kim Jong-un delivering warning messages to South Korea and the US. But the event, displaying the largest-ever number of nuclear-capable long-range missiles, clearly shows North Korea’s intent to relentlessly develop and mass-produce powerful strategic weapons that can hit the US mainland, according to experts after photos of

North Korea Feb. 9, 2023