Most Popular
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Controversy rekindled over when to name criminals, suspects
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Seoul transit pass for travelers to be available starting July
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Hybe-Ador CEO conflict gets messier
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[Weekender] Pet food makers bet big on ‘recession-free’ pet food market
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Battery makers ramp up efforts to diversify graphite supply chain
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Prosecutors to summon pastor who allegedly gave Dior bag to first lady
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‘Monk’ DJ spreading Buddhism goes global
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[LLG] Unseen inheritance: Trauma of transnational adoption 'trickles down' to adoptees' children
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[Drama Tour] Romantic trip to ‘Queen of Tears’ filming spots
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Court's ruling set to shape path of medical school expansion
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Military envisions combat forces deployment on island of Ulleung, East Sea
The military is envisioning the deployment of combat marine forces on the island of Ulleung in the East Sea, a move that could add military pressure on North Korea and enhance the defense of the easternmost islets of Dokdo, a military official said Thursday.If the deployment vision is put into action, it could form a U-shaped coastal defense system linking the group of islands near the inter-Korean border in the Yellow Sea and the southern resort island of Jeju to Ulleung, located about midway a
Nov. 5, 2015
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Korea, China, Japan vie in Thai arms market
(Joint Press Corps)BANGKOK ― Korea, China and Japan are engaged in a heated competition for more arms exports at a defense tradeshow in Thailand as they strive to shore up their presence in the region’s growing markets traditionally dominated by Western powerhouses. At this year’s Defense & Security 2015, which opened in Bangkok on Monday for a four-day run, the three Northeast Asian neighbors are showcasing their technological prowess in parallel for the first time. Tokyo, in particular, marked
Nov. 4, 2015
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Navy to perform regular defense drill on Dokdo next week
The Navy plans to carry out its regular defense exercise over Dokdo next week, the easternmost South Korean islets claimed by Japan, a Navy official said Wednesday. "The exact date of the drill could be adjusted depending on weather conditions," the Navy official said. The Coast Guard will also join the Dokdo drill, which South Korea has been conducting every spring and autumn since its inception in 1986. A total of 10 warships, including a surface vessel and a guided-missile patrol killer,
Nov. 4, 2015
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FM Yun to visit Iran, discuss North Korean nukes
Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se will visit Iran this week as the two countries seek to bolster bilateral ties in the wake of a nuclear deal with implications also for North Korea, the Foreign Ministry said Tuesday. Yun's visit to Tehran on Saturday will be the first by a South Korean foreign minister in 14 years, and comes four months after Iran struck a landmark deal with the United States and other world powers to curb its uranium enrichment program in exchange for sanctions relief. Yun is sch
Nov. 3, 2015
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Korean companies target Asian arms market
BANGKOK ― More than 400 arms manufacturers from some 50 countries around the globe gathered to explore opportunities for future exports and technological sharing at a tradeshow in Thailand on Monday. Defense & Security 2015 kicked off in the Southeast Asian country’s capital for a four-day run, drawing the highest number of participating countries and businesses since its launch in 2003. Nine major ship and aircraft makers and other arms producers are running booths at a 424-square-meter Korean
Nov. 2, 2015
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Allies endorse guideline to counter North Korea’s nuke, missile threats
South Korea and the U.S. on Monday approved an operational guideline to counter North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats, reiterating their allied stance against the communist regime’s possible aggression and provocations. During their annual Security Consultative Meeting in Seoul, Defense Minister Han Min-koo and his U.S. counterpart Ashton Carter also signed the allied plan to execute the “conditions-based” transfer of wartime operational control, which is expected to take place in the mid-20
Nov. 2, 2015
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Any North Korean aggression, provocation won't be tolerated: Han, Carter
South Korea and the U.S. agreed on Monday that they will not tolerate any aggression or military provocation by North Korea, reaffirming the U.S.' commitment to provide "extended deterrence" against the communist country's growing nuclear threats. "Defense Minister Han Min-koo and Defense Secretary Ashton Carter reaffirmed that any North Korean aggression or military provocation is not to be tolerated and the Republic of Korea and the U.S. would work shoulder-to-shoulder to demonstrate our comb
Nov. 2, 2015
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Korea, U.S. to begin ministerial talks on defense issues
Defense ministers of South Korea and the United States were to hold their annual talks Monday to discuss a range of defense issues, including how to handle North Korea's growing nuclear and missile threats. The 47th Security Consultative Meeting between Defense Minister Han Min-koo and U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter is scheduled to kick off in the late morning at the Ministry of National Defense in Seoul. North Korea's nuclear and missile capacities are likely to be the main focus of t
Nov. 2, 2015
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Korea to showcase defense prowess at Thai exhibition
BANGKOK ― The country’s leading arms producers are poised to boast their technological might and boost their potential for future exports at a trade fair in Thailand this week. Defense & Security 2015 will kick off Monday in the Southeast Asian country’s capital for a four-day run, bringing together about 25 defense agencies and 400 military service providers from about 50 countries. The biennial event is the largest military exhibition in the region, organizers said, having grown more than 30 p
Nov. 1, 2015
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Carter emphasizes South Korea support, visits buffer zone
U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter called on North Korea to shrink and eventually eliminate its nuclear weapons program, while acknowledging during a visit Sunday to the Demilitarized Zone dividing the two Koreas that prospects for reconciling with the defiant North are dim. ``For now what we have is what you see beyond us _ a very starkly divided and heavily defended border area,'' Carter told reporters as he stood on the South Korean side of a marker inside the DMZ that forms the de-facto borde
Nov. 1, 2015
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Lockheed Martin reverses itself, claims unaware of Korea-U.S. THAAD talks
U.S. defense giant Lockheed Martin said Friday it is not aware of any talks taking place between South Korea and the United States about the THAAD missile defense system, reversing an earlier claim that such discussions are already under way."We regret the inaccurate information that was provided by Lockheed Martin yesterday at a media event in Washington," Jennifer Whitlow, senior vice president for communications at Lockheed Martin, said in a statement. "We are not aware of any discussions bet
Oct. 31, 2015
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Defense agency asserts KF-X project is on right track
South Korea’s defense procurement agency reiterated Friday that it was capable of developing fighter jets with key technologies that the United States had refused to transfer to Seoul.Defense Acquisition Program Administration Minister Chang Myoung-jin testified before lawmakers that the system for the Korean Fighter Experimental (KF-X) project aimed at producing 120 combat jets would be completed by 2025 and that the first round of production would be made between 2025 and 2028. With additional
Oct. 30, 2015
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Seoul dismisses Lockheed’s claim over THAAD talks
South Korea’s Defense Ministry on Friday dismissed Lockheed Martin’s claim that Seoul and Washington have started formal consultations over a possible stationing of advanced U.S. missile assets on the peninsula. Mike Trotsky, vice president of air and missile defense at the U.S. defense giant, said at a news conference in Washington on Thursday that the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense system ― which the company manufactures ― is a subject of “ongoing policy discussions” between the two count
Oct. 30, 2015
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Pentagon rejects Lockheed Martin's claim about THAAD talks with S. Korea
The U.S. Defense Department said Thursday no formal consultations have taken place with South Korea about the possible deployment of a THAAD missile defense battery to the country, rejecting a Lockheed Martin official's claim that discussions are already under way."We have made no final decision regarding the deployment of a U.S. THAAD unit to the Republic of Korea, nor have we had any formal consultations with the ROK government on this issue," Cmdr. Bill Urban, a U.S. Defense Department spokes
Oct. 30, 2015
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Ministry seeks to cut number of generals
The Defense Ministry is seeking to curtail the number of active-duty general-level officers to around 400 from the current 440, amid criticism it has failed to fulfill a 2011 reduction plan due to resistance from the top brass.President Park Geun-hye walks with Defense Minister Han Min-koo (second from right), Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Lee Sun-jin (center) and other general-level officers in their new post assignment ceremony at Cheong Wa Dae on Thursday (Yonhap).The ministry said it was no
Oct. 29, 2015
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S. Korean soldier killed in apparent suicide near border with N. Korea
A South Korean soldier was killed in what could be a suicide with a grenade near the western border with North Korea, military officials said Thursday.The incident took place at around 5 a.m. when the private first class moved about 100 meters away from a guard post where he and his fellow soldier were on patrol duty.The 20-year-old was killed at the scene as a grenade he was holding went off soon after he moved from the guard post.Military authorities presume that the soldier pulled out the gre
Oct. 29, 2015
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Korea to step up anti-corruption efforts in arms contracts
The government announced Thursday it will bring in a special inspector and reinforce its auditing body to beef up its scrutiny of state defense procurement deals, which have often been fraught with corruption.The plan is part of an interim result based on the government's on-going probe into the defense procurement sector.As a succession of corruption-ridden transactions were revealed, the government launched a special investigation team a year earlier to look into suspicious procurement contrac
Oct. 29, 2015
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Korea to cut number of generals
South Korea will reduce the number of its military generals by about a tenth starting next year, a senior government official said Thursday.The Defense Ministry has drawn up a plan to downsize the total number of generals in the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps from the current level of about 440 to some 400, the official said on condition of anonymity.The plan is expected to be implemented in stages starting next year."The Defense Ministry is coordinating with the Army, Navy and Air Force
Oct. 29, 2015
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New task force to undertake faltering KF-X project
South Korea plans to launch a new project team which will take charge of the faltering fighter jet development program before the end of this year, an official from the Ministry of National Defense said Wednesday."For the success of the KF-X project, which is invested with huge funds and spawned technology development controversy, the project team will be established under the wing of the head of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration," the official said. The new team will be staffed wit
Oct. 28, 2015
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Military to accept more mandatory service applicants
South Korea will start accepting more applicants for compulsory military service to narrow down the gap between the number of young men signing up for enlistment and the number of places available for them. The Ministry of National Defense and the ruling Saenuri Party agreed Tuesday to expand the quota for military enlistment by 10,000 in 2016 and 2017. They decided to budget some 60 billion won ($53 million) to accommodate the increase in the number of enlisted service members. “We agreed to
Oct. 27, 2015