The Air Forces of South Korea, the United States and three other countries have kicked off an annual US-led humanitarian operation to deliver medicine and other basic necessities to remote Pacific islands ahead of the Christmas season, officials here said Monday. Hosted by the US Pacific Air Forces, the Operation Christmas Drop got under way on Sunday to send clothes and other necessities to res...

South Korea’s Air Force said Thursday it had expanded its space operations unit to enhance interoperability between the South Korean and US space forces against air and missile threats from North Korea. The launch of the “Space Operations Squadron” aims to strengthen the South Korean Air Force’s “capabilities to conduct space operations in practice," it said. The squadron will surveil space obje...

South Korea's Air Force said Tuesday it will participate in a US-led multinational humanitarian operation in Guam, an effort to enhance its airlift and other operational capabilities. It sent a C-130 transport plane and around 30 service members to Operation Christmas Drop, an annual event that the US Pacific Air Forces is set to host at Andersen Air Force Base in Guam from Tuesday through Dec. ...

President Yoon Suk-yeol said any new nuclear test by North Korea will be met with an international response "not seen in the past" and called on China to play a greater role to deter the North's provocations. Yoon made the remarks in an interview with Reuters, released Tuesday, amid growing concerns the North could conduct its seventh nuclear test after a series of recent missile launches. Shou...

An Air Force brigadier general has been demoted by one rank to colonel for mishandling a sexual assault case that led to the suicide death of a female soldier, military sources said Saturday. Jeon Ik-soo, the chief legal affairs officer of the Air Force, became the first general officer to be reduced in rank in about 40 years. The defense ministry passed the rare disciplinary measure on Nov. 18...

President Yoon Suk-yeol has vowed to actively support defense exports, touting the sector as a "future new growth engine” and “driving force for high-tech industries” during his visit to the nation’s leading arms firms on Thursday. South Korea, which has boosted its defense capabilities to curb threats from the North, has now become the No. 8 weapon seller, according to the Stockholm Internation...

South Korean Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup has asked for international support to help induce North Korea to abandon its nuclear program and return to dialogue during a regional defense forum in Cambodia, his ministry said Thursday. Lee made the appeal Wednesday at a key session of the ninth Association of Southeast Asian Nations Defence Ministers' Meeting-Plus in Siem Reap, Cambodia. It was att...

South Korean Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup asked China Wednesday to play a "constructive" role in addressing North Korea's nuclear and missile threats and encouraging its return to dialogue during talks with his Chinese counterpart, Seoul's defense ministry said. Lee met bilaterally with Beijing's Defense Minister Wei Fenghe in Siem Reap, Cambodia, on the margins of the three-day Association of ...

The sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un bristled Tuesday at this week's UN Security Council meeting on Pyongyang's recent intercontinental ballistic missile launch, accusing the council of applying "double standards." In a statement carried by the North's official Korean Central News Agency, Kim Yo-jong took issue with the council's open meeting held on Monday (New York time) to discuss th...

The defense chiefs of South Korea and Australia held talks in Cambodia on Tuesday to discuss bilateral cooperation in the arms industry and other security areas, Seoul's defense ministry said. Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup and his Australian counterpart, Richard Marles, met in Siem Reap on the sidelines of the three-day Association of Southeast Asian Nations Defense Ministers' Meeting-Plus, whic...

South Korea has conducted a successful missile interception test of its L-SAM system under development, a key element of the country's envisioned layered missile defense shield called the Korea Air and Missile Defense designed to counter advancing threats from North Korea, according to military officials here Tuesday. The L-SAM, or Long-range Surface-to-Air Missile, is aimed at shooting down bal...

North Korea foreign minister accused US of “gambling” over security on Korean Peninsula

However, South Korea should build up capabilities, resilience to play a role on economic fronts, countering Chinese coercion

Patrick Cronin suggests Seoul quietly build capabilities and resilience, but hold them in reserve only for contingency

US’ direct diplomacy with China is imperative for US-S. Korea-Japan cooperation to help maintain regional peace, says Frank Jannuzi