Most Popular
-
1
Tensions heighten ahead of first president-opposition chief meeting
-
2
Seoul to provide housing subsidy to married couples with newborns
-
3
New celebrity-endorsed therapy for face contouring requires only a pair of rubber bands
-
4
Rapper jailed after public street fight with another rapper
-
5
[KH Explains] No more 'Michael' at Kakao Games
-
6
Woman gets suspended term for injuring boyfriend with knife
-
7
Nominee for chief of anti-corruption body pledges 'independence, effectiveness'
-
8
Med schools expect 1,500+ new admission slots next year
-
9
Samsung chief bolsters ties with Germany’s Zeiss
-
10
KT launches new mobile plans for foreign residents
-
Carter emphasizes South Korea support, visits buffer zone
U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter called on North Korea to shrink and eventually eliminate its nuclear weapons program, while acknowledging during a visit Sunday to the Demilitarized Zone dividing the two Koreas that prospects for reconciling with the defiant North are dim. ``For now what we have is what you see beyond us _ a very starkly divided and heavily defended border area,'' Carter told reporters as he stood on the South Korean side of a marker inside the DMZ that forms the de-facto borde
Nov. 1, 2015
-
Lockheed Martin reverses itself, claims unaware of Korea-U.S. THAAD talks
U.S. defense giant Lockheed Martin said Friday it is not aware of any talks taking place between South Korea and the United States about the THAAD missile defense system, reversing an earlier claim that such discussions are already under way."We regret the inaccurate information that was provided by Lockheed Martin yesterday at a media event in Washington," Jennifer Whitlow, senior vice president for communications at Lockheed Martin, said in a statement. "We are not aware of any discussions bet
Oct. 31, 2015
-
Defense agency asserts KF-X project is on right track
South Korea’s defense procurement agency reiterated Friday that it was capable of developing fighter jets with key technologies that the United States had refused to transfer to Seoul.Defense Acquisition Program Administration Minister Chang Myoung-jin testified before lawmakers that the system for the Korean Fighter Experimental (KF-X) project aimed at producing 120 combat jets would be completed by 2025 and that the first round of production would be made between 2025 and 2028. With additional
Oct. 30, 2015
-
Seoul dismisses Lockheed’s claim over THAAD talks
South Korea’s Defense Ministry on Friday dismissed Lockheed Martin’s claim that Seoul and Washington have started formal consultations over a possible stationing of advanced U.S. missile assets on the peninsula. Mike Trotsky, vice president of air and missile defense at the U.S. defense giant, said at a news conference in Washington on Thursday that the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense system ― which the company manufactures ― is a subject of “ongoing policy discussions” between the two count
Oct. 30, 2015
-
Pentagon rejects Lockheed Martin's claim about THAAD talks with S. Korea
The U.S. Defense Department said Thursday no formal consultations have taken place with South Korea about the possible deployment of a THAAD missile defense battery to the country, rejecting a Lockheed Martin official's claim that discussions are already under way."We have made no final decision regarding the deployment of a U.S. THAAD unit to the Republic of Korea, nor have we had any formal consultations with the ROK government on this issue," Cmdr. Bill Urban, a U.S. Defense Department spokes
Oct. 30, 2015
-
Ministry seeks to cut number of generals
The Defense Ministry is seeking to curtail the number of active-duty general-level officers to around 400 from the current 440, amid criticism it has failed to fulfill a 2011 reduction plan due to resistance from the top brass.President Park Geun-hye walks with Defense Minister Han Min-koo (second from right), Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Lee Sun-jin (center) and other general-level officers in their new post assignment ceremony at Cheong Wa Dae on Thursday (Yonhap).The ministry said it was no
Oct. 29, 2015
-
S. Korean soldier killed in apparent suicide near border with N. Korea
A South Korean soldier was killed in what could be a suicide with a grenade near the western border with North Korea, military officials said Thursday.The incident took place at around 5 a.m. when the private first class moved about 100 meters away from a guard post where he and his fellow soldier were on patrol duty.The 20-year-old was killed at the scene as a grenade he was holding went off soon after he moved from the guard post.Military authorities presume that the soldier pulled out the gre
Oct. 29, 2015
-
Korea to step up anti-corruption efforts in arms contracts
The government announced Thursday it will bring in a special inspector and reinforce its auditing body to beef up its scrutiny of state defense procurement deals, which have often been fraught with corruption.The plan is part of an interim result based on the government's on-going probe into the defense procurement sector.As a succession of corruption-ridden transactions were revealed, the government launched a special investigation team a year earlier to look into suspicious procurement contrac
Oct. 29, 2015
-
Korea to cut number of generals
South Korea will reduce the number of its military generals by about a tenth starting next year, a senior government official said Thursday.The Defense Ministry has drawn up a plan to downsize the total number of generals in the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps from the current level of about 440 to some 400, the official said on condition of anonymity.The plan is expected to be implemented in stages starting next year."The Defense Ministry is coordinating with the Army, Navy and Air Force
Oct. 29, 2015
-
New task force to undertake faltering KF-X project
South Korea plans to launch a new project team which will take charge of the faltering fighter jet development program before the end of this year, an official from the Ministry of National Defense said Wednesday."For the success of the KF-X project, which is invested with huge funds and spawned technology development controversy, the project team will be established under the wing of the head of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration," the official said. The new team will be staffed wit
Oct. 28, 2015
-
Military to accept more mandatory service applicants
South Korea will start accepting more applicants for compulsory military service to narrow down the gap between the number of young men signing up for enlistment and the number of places available for them. The Ministry of National Defense and the ruling Saenuri Party agreed Tuesday to expand the quota for military enlistment by 10,000 in 2016 and 2017. They decided to budget some 60 billion won ($53 million) to accommodate the increase in the number of enlisted service members. “We agreed to
Oct. 27, 2015
-
Korea, U.S. hold talks on cyber threats
South Korea and the United States held working-level talks on Tuesday on how to tighten cooperation on protecting against potential cyber attacks, the Ministry of National Defense said.The third Cyber Cooperation Working Group held in Seoul discussed sharing intelligence on cyber threats and joint efforts to fend off potential attacks on the cyber space. The meeting was each headed by Park Rae-ho, director general, and U.S. Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Sean R. Filipowski."The latest mee
Oct. 27, 2015
-
Gov't to conscript extra 20,000 soldiers in next 2 yrs
The government and the ruling party agreed Tuesday to conscript an additional 20,000 soldiers over the next two years, as part of efforts to steadily maintain its standing forces.The government will spend an extra budget of 60 billion won ($53 million) to recruit an additional 10,000 officers in 2016 and another 10,000 in 2017."Currently, some 250,000 men are conscripted annually and there is enough facility to accommodate an extra 10,000," Rep. Kim Sung-chan of the ruling Saenuri Party told rep
Oct. 27, 2015
-
Park vows to push ahead with correct history textbooks
President Park Geun-hye vowed Tuesday to push ahead with the publication of "correct" history textbooks as she dismissed concern of possible distortion of the proposed books."Correcting history cannot and should not be the subject of political strife," Park said in a televised address to the National Assembly.Park's latest appeal came amid outcry from the opposition party and some liberal civic groups against the government's move to reintroduce state history textbooks for secondary school stude
Oct. 27, 2015
-
Navy to open Jeju base in Dec.
After years of public protests and ensuing delays, the Navy is poised to introduce a strategic naval base on Jejudo Island as early as December as part of the country’s efforts to beef up maritime defense, officials said Monday. A captain-led unit is scheduled to be launched on Dec. 1 to defend the base together with the Navy’s 7th Task Flotilla and part of the Submarine Force Command, which will move to the island from their current headquarters in Busan and Jinhae, South Gyeongsang Province, r
Oct. 26, 2015
-
Korea, U.S. open joint naval exercise with USS Ronald Reagan
South Korea and the United States kicked off on Monday a four-day naval exercise in the East Sea, joined by the nuclear-propelled USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier, the Navy said. It is intended to bolster their joint combat readiness and interoperability, according to the South Korean Navy. The Aegis-equipped Sejong the Great-class destroyer and 19 other warships will participate in the drill from the South Korean Navy.On the U.S. side will be the supercarrier, loaded with aircraft, and four
Oct. 26, 2015
-
DAPA soon to report KF-X project to Park
The embattled defense procurement agency may report soon to President Park Geun-hye on how to prop up its faltering project to develop indigenous jet fighters in the aftermath of the U.S.' rejection of four key technologies being transferred to the program.The 18 trillion-won ($15.9 billion) project to produce 120 combat jets hit a major stumbling block after the U.S. Department of State denied in April export licenses on four of the 25 technologies U.S. defense giant Lockheed Martin offered for
Oct. 26, 2015
-
ISIS-linked group threatens to bomb Seoul store: police
Police said Sunday they have received intelligence claiming that an African group linked to the Islamic State has threatened to carry out a terrorist attack on a store in a posh Seoul district.In a post on social media, the Mali group said they would attack a shop near COEX, a large shopping complex in the wealthy district of Gangnam, a police official said, asking not to be named, adding there was no mention of explosives being involved.The official, however, said the attack appeared highly unl
Oct. 25, 2015
-
U.S. defense secretary to visit S. Korea next week
U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said Friday he will visit South Korea next week for talks on North Korea's missile and nuclear programs. U.S. Defence Secretary Ashton Carter speaks during a news conference with his British counterpart Michael Fallon at Lancaster House in London, Britain on Oct. 9. (Reuters-Yonhap)At a press briefing in the Pentagon, Carter said he will be in South Korea next week to discuss "the ability of our collective defense to respond to those kinds of North Korean pro
Oct. 24, 2015
-
Troop cut plan back in spotlight
The issue of South Korea’s troop reduction returned to the spotlight this week, as the government endorsed a revision to the defense reform act to postpone the target year for the reform to 2030 from the previous 2020, at a Cabinet meeting Tuesday. Defense Minister Han Min-koo speaks during a parliamentary session on Monday. (Yonhap)As the reform measures under the act include a plan to decrease the active-duty troop level to 522,000 from the current 633,000 by 2022, the revision has given more
Oct. 23, 2015