Most Popular
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Marine Corps commander summoned by CIO for questioning on alleged influence-peddling case
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Debate rages over ‘overly fatty’ samgyeopsal
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[Weekender] Korean psyche untangled: Musok
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40 flights canceled on Jeju Island due to bad weather
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[Eye Interview] 'If you live to 100, you might as well be happy,' says 88-year-old bestselling essayist
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N. Korea slams US, other countries for seeking alternative to UN sanctions monitoring panel
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Pandemic left Korea more depressed than before: report
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From fake prostitution ring to nonexistent robber, prank calls hamper police
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Missing S. Korean traveler in Paris found safe after 2 weeks
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Defense chiefs of US, Australia, Japan decry NK-Russia military cooperation
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New USFK chief reaffirms nuclear umbrella commitment to S. Korea
The commander-designate of U.S. Forces Korea said Tuesday that removing the “nuclear umbrella” protection over South Korea will likely prompt Seoul’s nuclear armament, adding that the U.S. is looking for a nonnuclear Korean peninsula.Gen. Vincent Brooks, nominated to succeed Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti, said that the U.S. nuclear umbrella could be withdrawn in the absence of a nuclear hazard, but stressed that “we’re not at that time now and nor will we be in the near future.”Gen. Vincent Brooks (U.
April 20, 2016
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Korea shoulders 'significant load' for American troop presence: incoming USFK commander
The incoming commander of U.S. Forces Korea said Tuesday South Korea has been shouldering a "significant load" of the costs for the stationing of American troops in the country, rejecting Donald Trump's claims that Seoul pays almost nothing.Gen. Vincent Brooks, nominated to succeed Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti as USFK commander, made the remark during a Senate Armed Services Committee confirmation hearing, noting that it would cost more to have the 28,500 troops stationed in the U.S. than in South Ko
April 20, 2016
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Korea likely to pick engine maker for fighter jet project this month
South Korea plans to pick an engine provider for its indigenous fighter jet project as early as this month, an official at the country's sole aircraft maker said Tuesday.European engine maker Eurojet Turbo GmbH and U.S. company General Electric are vying to become the supplier for the engines of the next generation combat planes to be built under the Korean Fighter Experimental program, Korea Aerospace Industries Ltd. said."We are in talks with the two companies to select an engine provider for
April 19, 2016
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Ministry, military join forces against North's potential EMP attack
South Korea's science ministry said Tuesday it has signed an agreement with the military to make joint efforts against a possible electromagnetic pulse attack from North Korea.The National Radio Research Agency inked the memorandum of understanding with the Army Engineer School, according to the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning.It calls for the two sides to share EMP test equipment, develop preventive technologies together and exchange relevant specialists.An EMP occurs when a nuclea
April 19, 2016
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U.S. auditor points out software problems with F-35
The U.S. government auditor has urged the Defense Department to fix software problems associated with the F-35 fighter jet, saying the problems could result in taking the entire F-35 fleet offline.The Government Accountability Office said in a April 14 report that the Pentagon is aware of risks that could affect the F-25's Autonomic Logistics Information System, but does not have a plan to remedy the problems in a "holistic" manner.ALIS serves as the information infrastructure for the F-35, tran
April 19, 2016
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Former U.S. official says world should seek 'interim freeze' on N.K. nukes
The international community should seek an "interim freeze" on North Korea's nuclear and missile programs as a denuclearization deal with Pyongyang will not be possible for the foreseeable future, a former senior U.S. official said Friday. During a forum on the communist regime in Seoul, Robert Einhorn, former special adviser for nonproliferation and arms control at the U.S. State Department, also said that should Pyongyang accept the freeze, the world should be prepared for "parallel talks" on
April 15, 2016
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Korea to set up anti-terrorism headquarters
Headquarters for an anti-terrorism council will be set up when terror attacks occur in South Korea, the government said Friday, as part of its ongoing effort to strengthen the country against terrorism.Under a revised bill, the headquarters will be created under an anti-terrorism council at the Prime Minister's Office to oversee planning and management of anti-terrorism measures, an official source said.The bill will go into effect on June 4, he said.The council will be headed by the prime minis
April 15, 2016
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THAAD talks to pursue feasibility of deployment at 'earliest possible date': senior U.S. diplomat
The United States and South Korea are in formal discussions about the THAAD missile defense system with the aim of deploying the system at the "earliest possible date," a senior State Department official said.Frank Rose, assistant secretary of state for arms control, made the remark during a missile defense conference in London, saying THAAD will provide "an essential defensive capability" against North Korea's extended-range Scud and Rodong missiles."We also work closely with the Republic of Ko
April 14, 2016
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[Graphic News] S. Korean military ranks No.11
South Korea ranks 11th in the world in terms of military strength, according to the website Global Firepower which provides annual assessments of countries’ war capacities.The ranking took into account the number and diversity of weapons, geographical factors, logistics, natural resources, industry and manpower. Current political or military leadership was not considered. Seoul dropped from seventh place in 2015 and ninth place in 2014. Japan moved up two spots to No. 7. It had ranked No. 9 in 2
April 13, 2016
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Korea's military strength ranks 11th in world
South Korea ranks 11th in the world in terms of military strength, behind Japan at seventh and ahead of North Korea at 25th, according to an annual U.S. military power index.The South had a firepower index of 0.2824, right behind Italy's 0.2724, according to the Global Firepower (GFP) 2016, which takes over 50 factors into account to assess military power of countries.The smaller the index, the stronger a country's military power.South Korea's GFP ranked in ninth place in the 2014 index and seve
April 13, 2016
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Military chief checks naval combat readiness
The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff called for increased naval combat readiness on Monday during his inspection of the Navy's combat commands, the JCS said.Gen. Lee Sun-jin's visits to the Navy's Fleet and Submarine Force Commands and the underwater demolition team came as North Korea has ratcheted up its belligerent anti-South rhetoric to an unusually high level. Over the last month, North Korea has threatened to launch nuclear attacks on South Korea and strike South Korea's presidential
April 11, 2016
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Korea, U.S. begin 11-day naval drill along southern coast
South Korea and the United States kicked off an 11-day joint naval exercise along the southern coast of the Korean Peninsula on Monday to enhance their combined readiness to conduct search and rescue operations and other underwater missions, the Navy said.South Korea's Navy mobilized the 3,500-ton rescue vessel, Tongyeong, along with 12 specialized ship salvage unit personnel for the joint drill, which is part of the ongoing annual Foal Eagle field exercise. The U.S. side brought in the 3,300-to
April 11, 2016
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Calls in Korea for nuclear weapons reflect views U.S. security guarantees are fragile: CRS report
Renewed calls in South Korea for the redeployment of U.S. tactical nuclear weapons to the country or its own nuclear armament reflect concerns that U.S. security guarantees are "fragile," a U.S. congressional report said.The North's fourth nuclear test in January and its long-range rocket launch in February have led some leading members of South Korea's ruling party to make the case for nuclear armament, arguing that it makes no sense to rely on the U.S. "nuclear umbrella" as the North's nuclear
April 11, 2016
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Army chief to visit Japan for military talks
South Korea's Army chief will visit Japan later in the month to hold talks with his counterpart on ways to expand bilateral cooperation, the military said Sunday.The Army said its Chief of Staff Gen. Jang Jun-gyu will be in Japan on April 17 and 18 and hold a meeting with Gen. Kiyofumi Iwata, the head of Japan's Ground Self-Defense Force.The talks will be the first of their kind since January 2008, when a meeting took place between the heads of South Korea's and Japan's ground forces in Tokyo."J
April 10, 2016
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S. Korea's Army chief to visit Japan for military talks
South Korea's Army chief will visit Japan later in the month to hold talks with his counterpart on ways to expand bilateral cooperation, the military said Sunday.The Army said its Chief of Staff Gen. Jang Jun-gyu will be in Japan on April 17 and 18 and hold a meeting with Gen. Kiyofumi Iwata, the head of Japan's Ground Self-Defense Force.The talks will be the first of their kind since January 2008, when a meeting took place between the heads of South Korea's and Japan's ground forces in Tokyo."J
April 10, 2016
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Troops placed on standby amid N. Korean provocation to be given more leave
South Korean troops that have been placed on emergency standby in the face of heightened provocations from North Korea will be given more compensatory leave, the ministry said Sunday, The move comes as Pyongyang's nuclear test and firing off of missiles this year caused Seoul to place much of its forces in a heightened state of readiness, causing troop fatigue.In particular, fatigue felt by frontline unit troops that must respond immediately to North Korean military provocations is very high, wh
April 10, 2016
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[Weekender] Military at crossroads on female soldiers
It was almost a no-brainer for Park Na-hyun, a 26-year-old female student, to join the military.Having grown up in a family with a “disciplinary” father who served in the military for 20 years, military uniform was the norm. The scholarship provided by the military school was also a merit hard to pass up.However, eight months into her first year at military school, she decided to quit. As one of the two exclusive female cadets out of 30 cadets in her squad, she said she experienced implicit disa
April 8, 2016
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[Weekender] Military culture infuses throughout every part of society
On an ordinary weekday morning, throngs of executives line up by rank at the lobby of a sprawling glass building in Seoul that houses the headquarters of one of the country’s biggest family-run conglomerates. They are awaiting the chairman, who is about to make his entrance in about half an hour. As he emerges through the door, a vacuum-like, fleeting stillness sweeps through the pack, followed by waves of deep bows from the waist. In the evening, on the other side of town, a group of college st
April 8, 2016
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[Weekender] Military life leaves mental marks
Former Brig. Gen. Yoon Han-doo recalls the day when South Korean corvette Cheonan was struck by a North Korean torpedo on March 26, 2014. The retired general had been serving as the head of the Armed Forces Capital Hospital, which attended to the wounded sailors after the incident that left 46 dead.“Right then, I thought ‘this is a war, these are casualties of war,’” he said. Nearly 63 years have passed since the 1950-53 Korean War ended in an armistice, but the occasional skirmish with the comm
April 8, 2016
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[Weekender] A soldier’s life
On July 27, 1953, the three-year Korean War ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty. Nearly 63 years later, inter-Korean tensions are at their highest point in years as North Korean leader Kim Jong-un issues threats of nuclear strikes against the South and the U.S.The peculiar background means South Korea still has mandatory conscription for all able-bodied men. Nearly all adult men in Korea have hoisted and fired a gun and marched in military uniform with the purpose of protecting their count
April 8, 2016