Most Popular
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[Exclusive] Korean military set to ban iPhones over 'security' concerns
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Korean, Romanian leaders discuss defense tech, nuclear energy
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S. Korea calls on Japan to confront history amid Yasukuni Shrine visit
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Yoon’s jailed mother-in-law excluded from latest parole list
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Hybe and Min Hee-jin, CEO of Hybe sublabel Ador, lock horns
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[Pressure points] Leggings in public: Fashion statement or social faux pas?
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Korea’s homegrown nanosatellite successfully launches into space
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[Herald Interview] 'Amid aging population, Korea to invite more young professionals from overseas'
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Nicaragua shuts down Seoul embassy
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Rocket engine expert, ex-NASA exec to lead Korea's new space agency
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Combined Forces Command to move to Pyeongtaek by 2021
South Korea and the US seek to relocate their Combined Forces Command headquarters by the end of 2021 from Seoul to Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, ahead of the envisioned transfer of wartime operational control from Washington to Seoul, according to Defense Ministry officials Sunday.The tentative timeline was set by the allies following a meeting between Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo and then acting US Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan in Seoul in June when they agreed to move the CFC headq
Sept. 1, 2019
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USFK to close Yongsan Garrison within this year
The US Forces Korea will end all services at a major military base in the heart of Seoul within this year to prepare the return of the land to the South Korean government, military officials said Saturday. The US military has been moving its bases from around the country to a refurbished garrison in Pyeongtaek, some 70 kilometers south of Seoul, since 2017. While the USFK headquarters and the Eighth Army have moved to the new headquarters, called Camp Humphreys, the US military has been preparin
Aug. 31, 2019
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In NSC session, Cheong Wa Dae decides to seek early return of USFK bases
Cheong Wa Dae said Friday it will redouble efforts for the early return of more than two dozen US Forces Korea bases.It was briefing media on the results of a weekly meeting of the National Security Council's standing committee.The USFK has been moving its bases nationwide mainly to a refurbished garrison in Pyeongtaek, some 70 kilometers south of Seoul. It's named Camp Humphreys.The process of South Korea regaining the sites of the affected bases has been going slowly, however, partly due to ha
Aug. 30, 2019
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[Newsmaker] Defense Ministry says Korea-US alliance remains strong
Seoul’s Defense Ministry maintained Thursday that it was closely working with the United States, following the remarks by US defense leaders expressing disappointment over South Korea’s decision to withdraw from an intelligence-sharing pact with Japan.The United States has been vocally critical of South Korea’s decision to terminate the General Security of Military Information Agreement with Japan. “As we have told you before, defense minister and the US Secretary of
Aug. 29, 2019
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US flies spy plane over Seoul
A US reconnaissance plane flew over Seoul and surrounding regions Thursday, an aviation tracker said, on an apparent mission to collect intelligence regarding North Korea.The plane, believed to be an RC-135V, was detected in the skies above South Korea's capital city and Gyeonggi Province, Aircraft Spots posted on Twitter. The flight came amid concern the North could continue to conduct missile or rocket launches despite the conclusion of a combined military exercise between Seoul and Washington
Aug. 29, 2019
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S. Korea seeks to increase defense budget 7.4% next year
South Korea is seeking a 7.4 percent increase in its defense budget for next year, as it strives to strengthen self-defense capabilities amid growing security uncertainties, the defense ministry said Thursday.The government has proposed a budget of 50.15 trillion won ($41.29 billion) for next year, up from this year's 46.7 trillion won. If approved, it will be the first time that the country's defense budget surpasses the 50 trillion-won mark. Of the total, the ministry plans to spend 16.69 tril
Aug. 29, 2019
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[Feature] S. Korea faces prospect Trump may be seeking 'alliance fee'
South Korea already faces a turbulent security situation, with North Korea firing off missiles and relations with Japan at its lowest point. Now, the South’s closest ally is pressuring the government to pay more money for its troops stationed here. Ever since the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a cease-fire, the United States has maintained troops in South Korea to defend its ally and to keep China and Russia in check.With negotiations on cost-sharing for US troops here set to begin next month
Aug. 27, 2019
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Cabinet approves govt. plan to ink military info-sharing pact with Thailand
South Korea's Cabinet approved the government's plan to clinch a military intelligence-sharing pact with Thailand on Tuesday to enhance defense cooperation with the Southeast Asian country.The approval, at a Cabinet meeting hosted by Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon, is aimed at building an institutional framework to exchange military secrets between the two nations. So far, South Korea has clinched the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) with 21 countries, including the United
Aug. 27, 2019
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Defense chief vows staunch readiness
Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo vowed Monday to maintain a staunch readiness posture for North Korean provocations as Pyongyang has ratcheted up tensions with projectile launches even after South Korea and the United States ended joint exercises. "North Korea has heightened military tensions by firing a series of short-range projectiles and making verbal attacks against the South," he said during a speech at the first World Congress of Security Studies hosted by Korea Nati
Aug. 26, 2019
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[Newsmaker] S. Korea wraps up expanded military drills for Dokdo
South Korea wrapped up a military exercise on and around its easternmost islets of Dokdo in the East Sea on Monday after conducting the biannual maneuvers on the largest-ever scale amid an escalating row with Japan.The two-day exercise, the first of this year's two regular drills, involved all three services of the armed forces as well as the Marine Corps and the Coast Guard in a show of Seoul's determination not to back down in the row with Japan over wartime history and trade.The number of tro
Aug. 26, 2019
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[Newsmaker] S. Korea launches Dokdo defense drill amid tension with Japan
The South Korean armed forces launched a two-day military exercise to defend the easternmost islets of Dokdo on Sunday amid growing tensions over trade and their shared history, in a show of its staunch defense stance against Japan's repeated claims to sovereignty over the cluster of rocks in the East Sea.The Navy announced that the drill involves Navy, Air Force and Army forces, such as naval warships and aircraft, as well as Army and Marine Corp troops."Indeed, it's an exercise to guard o
Aug. 25, 2019
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Cheong Wa Dae says it never used Japan's intel in analyzing NK missiles under Moon
South Korea never used Japan's intelligence in analyzing North Korea's missile launches under the current Moon Jae-in administration, a senior official at the presidential office said Saturday, amid concerns over possible limits in countering the North's threats with the termination of an intel-sharing deal between Seoul and Tokyo. The official made the remark after North Korea fired two projectiles believed to be short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea earlier in the day, marking the s
Aug. 24, 2019
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S. Korea mulling further delay of Dokdo defense drills
South Korea is considering determining when to conduct maritime drills on and around its easternmost islets of Dokdo after watching whether Japan will take the South off a list of trusted trading partners as planned next week, an official said Saturday.The drills, involving the Navy, the Marine Corps and the Coast Guard, have been held twice a year, usually in June and December, to better fend off possible foreign infiltrations to the rocky outcroppings and the surrounding waters.But this year's
Aug. 24, 2019
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NSC members express 'strong concern' about N. Korea's launch of projectiles
South Korea's top security officials voiced "strong concern" Saturday over North Korea's continued launch of projectiles despite the end of its combined military training with the United States.They urged the North to halt such acts of escalating military tensions on the Korean Peninsula during an emergency session of the National Security Council standing committee, Cheong Wa Dae said.Its members began the meeting at 8:30 a.m., presided over by Chung Eui-yong, chief of the presidentia
Aug. 24, 2019
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N. Korea fires unidentified projectiles into East Sea: JCS
North Korea fired two projectiles presumed to be short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea on Saturday, South Korea's military said, ratcheting up tensions even after the end of a joint military exercise between the South and the United States.The projectiles were fired at 6:45 a.m. and 7:02 a.m. from the eastern town of Sondok in South Hamgyong Province into the East Sea, and both flew around 380 kilometers at a maximum altitude of 97 km and a top speed of around Mach 6.5, according to t
Aug. 24, 2019
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Scrapping GSOMIA raises questions about intel-sharing capability, alliance with US
The South Korean government is attempting to ease concerns that the country’s decision to abandon a military intelligence-sharing pact with Japan will weaken its alliance with the US and cooperation in fending off North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats. Following Cheong Wa Dae’s announcement Thursday that the General Security of Military Information Agreement with Japan would be scrapped, the presidential office and related ministries here on Friday stressed that the allianc
Aug. 23, 2019
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[Breaking] S. Korea to scrap military info-sharing pact with Japan
South Korea announced its decision Thursday to ditch a bilateral agreement with Japan on exchanging classified military information, citing a "grave change" in security cooperation conditions attributable to Japan's export restrictions. Seoul plans to inform Tokyo of the measure before the Aug. 24 deadline via a diplomatic channel, according to Kim You-geun, deputy director of South Korea's presidential national security office. The government concluded that it
Aug. 22, 2019
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Allies could begin negotiations on defense cost sharing as early as mid-Sept.: official
South Korea and the United States could launch negotiations on sharing the cost for the upkeep of American troops here as early as the middle of next month, an official at Seoul's foreign ministry said Thursday.The allies have been bracing for the negotiations on how much Seoul will pay next year for the stationing of the 28,500-strong US Forces Korea (USFK), as this year's Special Measures Agreement (SMA), a defense cost-sharing deal, is set to expire at the end of this year. "I predict th
Aug. 22, 2019
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Defense minister dismisses N. Korea’s taunts, highlights strong defense posture
Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo said it was not worth listening to North Korea’s criticism of South Korea’s joint military exercises with the United States, and vowed that defense posture would remain strong. At a parliamentary defense committee meeting, Jeong also spoke of the usefulness of the controversial military intel-sharing agreement with Japan. “(The North) is using vulgar words (to criticize us), but I do not feel it is worth responding to its words one by one,&rdqu
Aug. 21, 2019
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S. Korea, US wrap up summertime combined exercise
South Korea and the United States wrapped up their weekslong combined military exercises on Tuesday, raising hopes for a halt in a series of missile launches by North Korea and a possible resumption of nuclear talks between Washington and Pyongyang.The North has strongly bristled at the Combined Command Post Training and Crisis Management Staff Training, ratcheting up tensions with six rounds of missile or projectile launches and bellicose rhetoric over about three weeks."We've wrapped up t
Aug. 20, 2019