South Korea and Indonesia reached an agreement Wednesday on the payment Indonesia would have to make for their joint fighter jet project after concerns for months that Jakarta could default on the deal to produce a cheaper, less-stealthy alternative to the US-made F-35. The KF-21 program -- in which Indonesia seeks a 20 percent share and technology know-how while Korea holds the rest -- aims to ...

South Korea and Russia agreed Thursday to establish direct bilateral military hotlines to strengthen their communication to prevent accidental clashes at sea and in the air, Seoul's defense ministry said. Kim Sang-jin, the ministry's director general for international policy, and Viktor Kalganov, deputy director of Russia's National Defense Control Center, signed the memorandum of understanding ...

South Korea and the US have not made any decisions on when Seoul will take over wartime operational control from Washington, the US Defense Department said Wednesday, amid signs of a rift in the allies’ position on the wartime role the US first assumed in the 1950-53 Korean War. Last week, Gen. Paul LaCamera, the US military chief overseeing the 28,500 American troops here, said the two countrie...

South Korea's military reported 10 additional COVID-19 cases Thursday, bringing the total caseload among its personnel to 2,105, the defense ministry said. Among the new cases were three draftees of a unit under the direct wing of the defense ministry in Gwacheon, just south of Seoul, who tested positive following their recent vacation. A Marine Corps officer and a civilian worker of the Army a...

South Korea's military is rolling up its sleeves to help address supply shortages of urea solution, a material used to reduce emissions in diesel vehicles, by mobilizing a transport plane for emergency imports and unleashing part of its reserves. This week, the military has mobilized the Air Force's KC-330 tanker transport aircraft to import 27,000 liters of urea solution from Australia, and dec...

A group of Korean Americans was set to unveil a new monument in the United States this week to commemorate the sacrifices of US troops killed during the 1950-53 Korean War, the veterans affairs ministry said Thursday. The Korean War Memorial Monument Committee plans to hold a ceremony unveiling the structure, bearing the names of 36,591 fallen US troops, in Fullerton City, Orange County, Califor...

The annual ceremony honoring UN veterans of the 1950-53 Korean War will be held in Busan on Thursday. The “Turn Toward Busan” event -- attended by Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum, Colombian Vice President Marta Lucia Ramirez, UN Command Commander Gen. Paul LaCamera -- takes place in the city housing the first UN cemetery with 2,311 war dead from 11 countries. About 2 million UN troops participated i...

South Korea's military reported seven additional COVID-19 cases Wednesday, bringing the total caseload among its personnel to 2,095, the defense ministry said. An Army conscript based in Dongducheon, 40 kilometers north of Seoul, tested positive after developing symptoms. Two Army officers, a civilian worker and a draftee of a unit under the direct wing of the defense ministry also contracted t...

Peace comes from people and their hearts and minds, not from an organization, according to Vincent Courtenay, a Canadian veteran who took part in the 1950-53 Korean War and is visiting Busan on Thursday with fellow veterans to commemorate International Memorial Day for UN Veterans. Courtenay was referring to President Moon Jae-in’s latest initiative to formally end the decades-old conflict that ...

South Korea is expected to send an Air Force transport aircraft to Australia this week to import 27,000 liters of urea water solution, a military source said Tuesday, in an effort to ease a supply shortage of the fluid. A KC-330 tanker transport plane is expected to take off at Gimhae International Airport in the southeastern port city of Busan on Wednesday, the source said, noting details for t...

South Korea's top military officer embarked on a weeklong trip to Belgium and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Tuesday to promote bilateral defense exchanges and cooperation, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said. During his visit to Brussels from Wednesday to Friday, JCS Chairman Gen. Won In-choul plans to meet senior officials of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), including Militar...

South Korea was set Tuesday to hold a ceremony launching a new frigate named after a warship torpedoed by North Korea in 2010, the Navy and state arms procurement agency said. The ceremony for the 2,800-ton frigate, Cheonan, was scheduled to take place at the shipyard of Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. in Ulsan, some 410 kilometers southeast of Seoul, as the Navy still has potent memories of the No...

South Korea's military reported seven additional COVID-19 cases Tuesday, bringing the total caseload among its personnel to 2,088, the defense ministry said. Among the new cases were five Army conscripts, including two stationed in Yeoncheon, 62 kilometers north of Seoul. An Army officer based in Jangseong, 308 kilometers south of Seoul, tested positive before returning to the base from a vacat...

South Korea's Navy has unveiled a three-dimensional rendering of an envisioned light aircraft carrier in a show of its resolve to build the warship by 2033 amid lingering doubts over its feasibility and necessity. After five months of preparations, the Navy posted the six-minute clip depicting the carrier strike group on its YouTube channel Monday as part of an annual program to mark the 76th an...

South Korea's military held an annual meeting of general-grade officers from all armed services via video links Monday to discuss defense reform, inter-service cooperation and other security issues, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said. JCS Chairman Gen. Won In-choul and the top brass of the Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps attended the Mugunghwa Meeting that the military has held since 19...