South Korea's military reported three additional COVID-19 cases Monday, bringing the total caseload among its personnel to 2,081, the defense ministry said. A Navy officer stationed in Jinhae, 410 kilometers south of Seoul, tested positive before participating in an educational program. A civilian worker of a unit under the direct wing of the defense ministry based in Seongnam, south of Seoul, ...

South Korea's military reported eight additional COVID-19 cases Friday, bringing the total caseload among its personnel to 2,067, the defense ministry said. Among the new cases were five Army draftees, including a trainee at a boot camp in Nonsan, some 200 kilometers south of Seoul. An Army officer stationed in Gapyong, 60 kilometers east of Seoul, tested positive following a vacation. Another ...

The top US military commander in South Korea on Friday touted the combined forces of the two allies as the "most lethal and ready" troops in the world amid lingering concerns over North Korea's evolving nuclear and missile threats. Gen. Paul LaCamera, the head of the South Korea-US Combined Forces Command (CFC), made the remarks during a ceremony at the Yongsan Garrison in Seoul to celebrate the...

South Korea and Indonesia will hold what could be the final round of negotiations in the Southeast Asian country next week to address the latter's overdue payments for a joint fighter development project, informed sources said Friday. Officials from Korea Aerospace Industries Ltd. (KAI), South Korea's sole aircraft maker, will meet with negotiators from Indonesia's defense ministry, the sources ...

South Korea and the US are still working for Seoul to take over wartime operational control of the joint military forces from Washington by the time they had agreed, the Ministry of National Defense said Thursday in response to the top US general who hinted at a delay. “We will have to look at what exactly the US commander said, but the bottom line is that the transfer is taking place as schedul...

The top US military commander in South Korea hinted Thursday that the two allies could adjust their plan for a conditions-based transfer of wartime operational control (OPCON). Speaking at a webinar, Gen. Paul LaCamera, the chief of the South Korea-US Combined Forces Command, touched on the envisioned OPCON transition, saying, "Most plans never survive first contact." Seoul and Washington have ...

South Korea's military reported nine additional COVID-19 cases Thursday, bringing the total caseload among its personnel to 2,059, the defense ministry said. Among the new cases were three Army officers stationed in Damyang, 344 kilometers south of Seoul, who were tested positive following an infection of one of their acquaintances. An Army officer based in Chuncheon, 85 kilometers northeast of...

The US military said Wednesday it was looking into the death of an American soldier dispatched to South Korea on a rotational mission. US Army Sgt. Joe Haflei, 33, of the 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, was pronounced dead on Oct. 17 at a South Korean Army base near the central city of Daejeon, the US military said in a press release. Authorities are investigating detai...

Korea Aerospace Industries, South Korea’s sole aircraft manufacturer, is in talks with the Slovakian government to sell 10 FA-50 homegrown trainer jets in a $500 million deal, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration said Wednesday. KAI is set to sign a deal with Slovakian aircraft repair company LOTN on Wednesday in Hungary upon President Moon Jae-in’s European tour this week. The presid...

South Korea's military reported six additional COVID-19 cases Wednesday, bringing the total caseload among its personnel to 2,050, the defense ministry said. Among the new cases is a Navy officer who tested positive while in quarantine following a vacation. A civilian employee of the Army also contracted the virus after a family member tested positive. The other cases are an officer of a milita...

Despite efforts by the military to introduce a culture that better respects soldiers’ rights, young Korean men still favor an alternative to their mandatory military service: the Korean Augmentation to the United States Army. Last week, the military loosened rules on hairstyles that can be worse by conscripts, in its latest move to drop discriminatory practices and boost morale following a numbe...

South Korea approved a plan Monday to develop homegrown lightweight torpedoes by 2028 to enhance the Navy's anti-submarine capabilities, the state arms procurement agency said. Presided over by Defense Minister Suh Wook, the Defense Project Promotion Committee endorsed the project worth 160 billion won ($135 million), the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) said. The move came aft...

South Korean and US intelligence are closely monitoring for signs of North Korea’s next missile test, the military said Monday in response to satellite images showing preparations to launch a submarine-launched ballistic missile for the second time since October. The images -- made public last week by 38 North, which monitors North Korea -- showed activity involving a mobile crane and a submerge...

South Korea's Defense Minister Suh Wook held talks with the visiting Australian Army chief in Seoul on Monday to discuss defense industry cooperation and regional security, his office said. During the talks with Australian Chief of Army Lt. Gen. Rick Burr, Suh noted that a South Korean company has been chosen as the preferred bidder to supply self-propelled howitzers to the Australian military, ...

South Korea and the United States kicked off a combined annual air exercise Monday, a source said, in a low-key manner apparently to back ongoing diplomacy to resume dialogue with North Korea. For the five-day exercise, the allies mobilized some 100 air assets each, including F-15K and KF-16 jets from South Korea and F-16s from the US, the source said, noting no military assets were deployed fro...