South Korea's top military officer has called for troops to stick to "basics and principles" in a New Year's message, his aide said Monday, a directive eclipsed by a botched effort to stop an unidentified person from crossing the inter-Korean border over the weekend. For delivery on the first week of the new year, Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) Chairman Gen. Won In-choul had the message ready on Fr...

South Korea's military on Monday reported eight additional COVID-19 cases, including seven breakthrough infections, raising the total caseload among its personnel to 3,311. Of the new cases, five are from the Army, one from the Navy, one from the Air Force and one from a unit under the direct control of the defense ministry. Currently, 240 military personnel are under treatment. Of the total mi...

South Korea's Defense Minister Suh Wook reiterated calls Friday for military personnel to maintain political neutrality as rival parties are revving up preparations for the March 9 presidential election. Suh made the calls in his New Year's message that highlighted the Moon Jae-in administration's resolve to strengthen "across-the-board" national defense while trying to reduce cross-border tensi...

An Army service member suffered an injury in a land mine explosion near the inter-Korean border Thursday, an official said. The detonator of the Claymore directional anti-personnel mine exploded at the front-line Army base in Yanggu, 175 kilometers northeast of Seoul, when the troops were inspecting their equipment. The soldier is currently receiving medical treatment, although the official sai...

South Korea has started the construction of a new 3,600-ton-class military submarine with improved ballistic missile capabilities, officials said Thursday. The second unit of Changbogo-III Batch-II class submarine, boasting advanced combat capabilities and sonar systems, is set to be built by 2026 and handed over to the Navy in 2028, according to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (D...

South Korea conducted regular military drills to strengthen the defense of its easternmost islets of Dokdo last week, an informed source said Wednesday, amid lingering tensions caused by Japan's persistent claims to the East Sea outcroppings. The country's military staged the drills to ensure their readiness to fend off potential foreign infiltrations to the rocky outcroppings, the source said w...

South Korea's military on Wednesday reported 27 additional COVID-19 cases, with all of them being breakthrough infections, raising the total caseload among its personnel to 3,207. Of the new cases, 13 are from the Army, seven from the Air Force, four from the Navy and three from units under direct control of the ministry. Currently, 257 military personnel are under treatment. Of the total milit...

South Korea plans to embark on a civilian-military project next year to design a solid-fuel space launch vehicle under a broad initiative to develop the country's space defense industry, the state arms procurement agency said Tuesday. At a policy forum, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) unveiled the initiative consisting of 24 key tasks aimed at locally developing cutting-edg...

South Korea's military on Tuesday reported 28 additional COVID-19 cases, including 27 breakthrough infections, raising the total caseload among its personnel to 3,181. Of the new cases, 15 are from the Army, seven from the Navy, four from the Air Force and two from the Marine Corps, according to the defense ministry. Currently, 268 military personnel are under treatment. Of the total military c...

The Navy will receive an upgraded destroyer Tuesday, after nearly a year of refurbishment aimed at strengthening anti-submarine and other capabilities, the state arms procurement agency said. The 3,200-ton KDX-I destroyer, Eulji Mundeok, was sent for the upgrade in January. It is now equipped with the latest towed array sonar system designed to reinforce anti-submarine capabilities, the Defense ...

South Korea‘s military approved a plan Monday to locally develop and deploy a reconnaissance and surveillance drone by 2031 to better defend the country’s northwestern border islands, the state arms procurement agency said. The Defense Project Promotion Committee endorsed the project worth 570 billion won ($479 million) for the drone designed to be operated aboard Navy warships and by Marine Cor...

S. Korea, US appear to be on different page in dealing with China challenge

South Korea's military on Monday reported 33 additional COVID-19 cases, including 31 breakthrough infections, raising the total caseload among its personnel to 3,153. Of the new cases, 11 are from the Navy, nine from the Army, eight from the Air Force, and five from units under the direct control of the defense ministry. Currently, 278 military personnel are under treatment. Of the total milita...

South Korea has signed a contract to mass-produce ground communication devices for joint operations with the military's new satellite launched last year, the arms procurement agency said Monday. Under the deal, two local defense firms -- LIG Nex1 Co. and Hanwha Systems Co. -- will produce eight different ground-based communication devices through 2025 with a budget of 888.5 billion won ($748.5 m...

South Korea's defense ministy on Saturday reported 25 additional COVID-19 cases, with 24 of them being breakthrough infections, raising the total caseload in the military to 3,089. Of the new cases, five are from the Army, 13 from the Navy, five from the Air Force, two from units under the direct control of the defense ministry. Of the total military caseload, 1,297 are breakthrough cases. The...