The military prosecution has reprimanded one of its staff for demanding a large sum of money from a two-star general whom he had been investigating in a corruption case, sources said Wednesday. The authorities ordered a one-month reduction in the prosecutor’s pay. The prosecutor, whose name was withheld, had been investigating the general since he learned that the high-level officer was offered...

South Korea deployed military patrol aircraft and warships to an area under its air defense zone on Tuesday as China and Russia kicked off their joint seven-day maritime drills in the area in the East China Sea without prior notice. Korea’s Defense Ministry also called in a defense attache from the Chinese Embassy in Seoul to request that Beijing notify Korea of future military drills beforehand...

The Defense Ministry’s plan to transfer the Army’s land-based coastal defense mission to the maritime police by 2021 is facing hurdles as the government has decided to disband the Coast Guard under intense criticism for its failed response to the ferry disaster last month. “There is a possibility that the plan could face some delays as the mission will have to be transferred to the new instituti...

South Korea and the United States plan to hold a Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) meeting in June, during which they are expected to mainly discuss the treatment of Korean civilian staff hired by U.S. troops, sources said Tuesday. The meeting of the SOFA Joint Committee will be held in Seoul next month in a bid to mainly discuss ways to enhance the treatment of some 8,500 Koreans working at U.S...

Defense ministers of South Korea, the United States and Japan plan to meet in Singapore next week for possible discussions on cooperation in dealing with North Korea's nuclear and missile programs, officials said Monday. South Korea's Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin is set to meet with his U.S. counterpart Chuck Hagel and Japanese defense chief Itsunori Onodera on May 31 in Singapore on the sideli...

U.S. National Intelligence Director James Clapper met with South Korean Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin in Seoul on Wednesday apparently to discuss North Korea’s escalating nuclear threats. Clapper was also to meet with senior Seoul officials at the presidential office of Cheong Wa Dae and the National Intelligence Service, and visit the South Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command in central Seoul, s...

South Korea, the U.S. and Japan are seeking to hold trilateral defense talks on the sidelines of a security forum in Singapore later this month, to discuss North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats, and other issues of mutual concern, a Seoul official said Sunday. During the Shangri-La Dialogue, an annual meeting of defense ministers in Singapore, the top defense officials of the countries are a...

The U.S. has established an operational plan to deploy 20 marine brigades to the Korean Peninsula in case of a North Korean invasion into the South, U.S. House Armed Services Chairman Howard McKeon said Tuesday. During a forum in Washington, McKeon said that U.S. Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James Amos told him that most of the U.S. marines are to be dispatched to defend South Korea under the pl...

Transfer is expected to come in early 2020s

South Korea on Monday approved a plan to purchase scores of Patriot Advanced Capability-3 missiles from the U.S. for deployment from 2016-2020, the state defense acquisition agency said. During a top defense decision-making meeting presided over by Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin, Seoul endorsed the plan that also includes upgrading the current missile interception system from 2014 through 2020. T...