South Korea's military on Wednesday reported 45 additional COVID-19 cases, including 41 breakthrough infections, raising the total caseload among its personnel to 2,822. Of the new cases, 18 people are from the Army, 10 from the Air Force, 11 from units under the direct control of the defense ministry, four from the Marine Corps and one from the Navy, officials said. An officer from the ministry...

South Korea on Wednesday started deploying new 7.62 mm-caliber machine guns to the Army under a project to replace the existing decades-old equipment and reinforce combat capabilities, the arms procurement agency said. The K-16 machine guns will supplant K-3 and M60 guns as a bedrock asset of the military's fire power, the first such replacement in three decades, the Defense Acquisition Program ...

South Korea's military on Tuesday reported 40 additional COVID-19 cases, including 35 breakthrough infections, raising the total caseload among its personnel to 2,777. Of the new cases, 15 people are from the Army, 13 from the Air Force, four from the Navy, and seven from units under the direct control of the defense ministry, officials said. An officer from the ministry was also infected. Curr...

Australia signs $720m weapons deal, first major deal with Asian country

South Korea's military on Monday reported 25 additional COVID-19 cases, all of which are breakthrough infections, raising the total caseload among its personnel to 2,738. Of the new cases, 19 people are from the Army, four from the Navy, one from a unit under the direct control of the defense ministry, and one civilian employee, officials said. Currently, 379 military personnel are under treatm...

Australia has signed a contract to buy 30 units of the K-9 Thunder self-propelled howitzer from South Korea, its manufacturer said Monday. The Australian Army will also acquire 15 units of K-10 armored ammunition resupply vehicles under the deal signed between the nation's Capability Acquisition and Sustainment Group (CASG) and Hanwha Defense Australia, according to Hanwha Defense, based in Seou...

South Korea has successfully conducted key performance tests of a homegrown ship-based guided missile ahead of its deployment next year, the state-run defense quality assessment agency and Navy officials said Friday. The Defense Agency for Technology and Quality (DTaQ) said that the missile, called the Haegung, hit the intended target in two tests, one conducted on Wednesday and one Friday. Haeg...

South Korea's Defense Minister Suh Wook instructed senior military officials Friday to "strictly" maintain political neutrality ahead of next year's presidential poll, casting the armed forces as "the last bulwark of national defense." Suh made the remarks during a year-end meeting of top commanders from the Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps, as the country's political parties are quickenin...

South Korea's Vice Chief of Naval Operations Vice Adm. Kim Jung-soo will be promoted to admiral and serve as top commander of the Navy as part of a regular reshuffle of generals and admirals, the defense ministry said Friday. Kim, 59, will replace Adm. Boo Suk-jong, who has led the Navy since April last year, in what is expected to be the last senior-level shakeup under the Moon Jae-in administr...

South Korea has issued a navigational warning for ships off the east coast next week over its routine naval firing drills, officials said Friday. The Korea Hydrographic and Oceanographic Agency issued the warning earlier this week as the Joint Chiefs of Staff announced its plan for "regular maritime firing drills" in waters south of Ulleung Island in the East Sea from Monday through Friday, acco...

Top military officials of South Korea and the United States have met to discuss the possibility of conducting an assessment required for the envisioned transfer of wartime operational control (OPCON) earlier than the current plan of next fall, sources said Friday. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Won In-choul and Gen. Paul LaCamera, the head of the South Korea-US Combined Forces Command (CFC)...

South Korea's military on Friday reported 30 additional COVID-19 cases, including 29 breakthrough infections, raising the total caseload among its personnel to 2,647. Of the new cases, 22 people are from the Army, two from the Marine Corps, one from the Navy, one from the South Korea-US Combined Forces Command and four from units under the direct control of the defense ministry, officials said. ...

South Korea's military on Thursday reported 34 additional COVID-19 cases, including 31 breakthrough infections, raising the total caseload among its personnel to 2,617. Of the new cases, 22 people are from the Army, six from the Air Force, one from the Navy, four from military units under the direct control of the defense ministry and one from the Joint Chiefs of Staff, officials said. Currentl...

US missile defense system capabilities including those in South Korea are constantly reviewed and upgraded to meet evolving threats, Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby said Wednesday. Kirby also highlighted the need for such capabilities to counter threats posed by what he called any "would-be" foes. "This is the kind of capability that we not only believe we need in the region but that we nee...

Seoul will continue its ongoing efforts to enhance counter-terrorism capabilities