The military will try to raise the average daily meal cost for service members to 10,500 won ($9) next year, the defense ministry said Friday, after coming under criticism that soldiers are poorly fed. Defense Minister Suh Wook discussed the raise and other measures during a meeting with military commanders, according to the ministry. The current cost per meal for troops is 2,930 won, lower than the average for high school students at 3,625 won, it said. The military came under fire after a s

Five Navy sailors tested positive for the new coronavirus while on the same naval ship, bringing the total caseload from the vessel to 38, the defense ministry said Friday. Last month, the Navy reported 33 COVID-19 cases among members of the Gojunbong landing ship in the first mass infection on a military vessel. Of 84 sailors aboard the ship, 51 tested negative and have been in isolation, but five of them were found to have contracted the virus in a test required to exit quarantine, the min

South Korea and the United States on Friday discussed ways to jointly respond to remnants of a Chinese rocket expected to crash into Earth this weekend, the Air Force said. The Long March 5B rocket was launched last week carrying a module of China's first permanent space station into orbit. But a large piece of debris is expected to plunge back in an uncontrolled reentry on around Saturday (US time), according to the U.S. Space Command. To explore ways to jointly deal with the case, South Kore

Six Army members and four Air Force officers tested positive for the new coronavirus, the defense ministry said Thursday, the latest in a series of infections across the nation. Three of the four airmen were confirmed to have been infected after coming into contact with their colleagues who earlier tested positive, according to the ministry. The remaining Air Force officer, an Army officer, and four soldiers contracted the virus following their recent vacation, the ministry said, adding that

US Forces Korea (USFK) has eased its quarantine rules for fully vaccinated, newly arrived members, allowing them access to duty location and other on-post activities during their 14-day mandatory quarantine period upon arrival, the US military said. All USFK-affiliated individuals arriving here are required to undergo a COVID-19 test and quarantine for 14 days. Medical personnel administer a second test prior to their release. Under the revised quarantine policy that took effect Wednesday, th

Gen. Paul LaCamera is expected to take office as the new commander of the US Forces Korea (USFK) around next month if his confirmation process goes smoothly, sources said Thursday. LaCamera, who currently serves as Army Pacific Commander, was nominated to succeed Gen. Robert Abrams to lead the 28,500-strong USFK, and his nomination was referred to the Senate Armed Services Committee late last month for a confirmation hearing, according to the sources. "The exact schedule for the hearing i

Outgoing US Forces Korea (USFK) Commander Gen. Robert Abrams will receive a Korean name as a gift from a South Korea-US friendship group during his farewell event next week, organizers said Thursday. The Republic of Korea-US Alliance Friendship Association will present the name, Woo Byung-soo, to the four-star general for "his contributions to the alliance and defense of South Korea" at the event scheduled for next Thursday, according to the group. The first name, Byung-soo, is made

Seven soldiers at an Army base in Yangju, just north of Seoul, have tested positive for the new coronavirus in another cluster infection reported in barracks, the defense ministry said Tuesday. One of the soldiers first tested positive upon returning from vacation after a family member was found to have contracted COVID-19, according to the ministry. In subsequent tests conducted on 50 people who had direct contact with the soldier, six tested positive, while 12 are awaiting their results. The

The military is closely monitoring North Korea but no unusual signs have been detected so far, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said Monday, after Pyongyang warned of "crisis beyond control" and "corresponding action" in a series of statements slamming Seoul and Washington. On Sunday, the North denounced US President Joe Biden for making the "big blunder" of calling its nuclear program a serious threat and criticized Seoul for failing to stop defectors from flying

South Korea was to hold a launching ceremony Monday for a new 2,800-ton frigate with improved anti-submarine capabilities, the Navy said. The new warship Daejeon is the fifth of the country's FFX Batch II frigates to replace the Navy's 1,500-ton frigates and 1,000-ton patrol combat corvettes, according to the military. The ceremony was to be held at its manufacturer Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co.'s Okpo shipyard on the southern island of Geoje, with the attendance of Chief o

The defense ministry on Monday extended the current social distancing rules for the military for three weeks, which allow service members to take vacation in a limited manner. The Level 2 scheme, which was supposed to expire Sunday, will be in place until May 23 in line with the government's COVID-19 guidance, according to the ministry. It is the third-highest level in the five-tier alert system. Under the scheme, troops are allowed to go on vacation while strictly adhering to antivirus measur

A Korean Augmentation to the US Army (KATUSA) soldier has tested positive for the new coronavirus after receiving a Johnson & Johnson (J&J) vaccine shot, officials said. The soldier, stationed at Camp Casey in Dongducheon, 40 kilometers north of Seoul, was confirmed to have contracted COVID-19 on Thursday upon returning to duty from leave. The soldier reportedly received the single-dose Janssen vaccine in early April. The service member last visited Camp Casey on Wednesday and is cur

The South Korean, US and Japanese military chiefs on Thursday discussed deepening security cooperation amid a growing threat from North Korea to promote peace and stability in the region, at their first in-person three-way talks in Hawaii since the COVID-19 outbreak in January a year earlier. The talks, held on the sidelines of a change-of-command ceremony at the US Indo-Pacific Command, opened as the US seeks to establish what it calls a rules-based international order in the Indo-Pacific regi

The US missile defense agency conducted two missile flight tests last year to integrate its Patriot and THAAD missile systems, but they were unsuccessful due to software problems, a US government report has showed. The US is working to upgrade its Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) batteries around the world, including one in South Korea, to add advanced radar and to integrate the system with Patriot missiles. According to the report by the US Government Accountability Office (GAO), t

Three soldiers and an airman tested positive for the new coronavirus, the defense ministry said Friday, the latest in a series of infections at barracks across the nation. The four service members, all from different units, were confirmed to have been infected following their recent vacation, bringing the total number of infections among the military population to 784, according to the ministry. Nationwide, South Korea reported 661 more COVID-19 cases, including 642 local infections, raising t