The defense ministry on Tuesday issued guidelines on the use of social media by soldiers, with an emphasis on protecting the military’s confidential information. The ministry said in a statement the increase in smartphone ownership and the subsequent rise in use of social networking services prompted the publication of the guidelines. “Our guidelines are designed to help troops in their use of ...

Dozens of South Korean non-commissioned officers (NCOs) will receive leadership training at a U.S. army base in South Korea this spring, officials said Tuesday. The South’s Army said 65 NCOs will enter a four-week program starting in April at the Eighth U.S. Army Wightman Non-Commissioned Officers Academy. The academy is based in Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi Province, north of Seoul. According to South ...

Conventional and nuclear weapons pose continuing threats but the real arms race now on is in cyberspace, a new cyber defense report said. The report by Brussels think tank Security and Defense Agenda received input from Intel Corp. subsidiary McAfee technology security company and leading global security experts. The findings indicated that smaller states Finland, Israel and Sweden surged ahead...

The incorporation of the very-high altitude unmanned aerial vehicle Global Hawk into the South Korean military and the U.S. Forces Korea will be delayed due to the U.S. government’s decision to reduce defense spending. On Thursday the U.S. government announced that it will cut defense spending by about $500 billion over the next 10 years. As a result, the U.S. military’s plans to introduce advan...

WASHINGTON (Yonhap News) ― The head of the U.S. Pacific Command said Friday that there will be no “significant” change in the scale and role of American troops in South Korea despite the Pentagon’s plan to cut budgets and slash the number of ground troops. Adm. Robert Willard, however, left open the possibility for some adjustment, based on annual consultations between the allies, given regional...

South Korea and the U.S. will kick off their two major annual joint military drills later next month, officials of the allies announced Friday. They said the Key Resolve exercise will start on Feb. 27 and go on until March 9. Separately, the Foal Eagle exercise will be held from March 1 to April 30. The Key Resolve will involve about 200,000 South Korean troops, plus 2,100 U.S. troops. About 80...

South Korea’s Marine Corps on Thursday conducted the first live-fire drill at the islands near the Northern Limit Line in the West Sea since the death of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il. The late North Korean leader died of heart failure on Dec. 17. Thursday’s exercise was conducted by Marine Corps units based on the West Sea islands including Baengnyeongdo and Yeonpyeongdo, and involved Vulcan...

WASHINGTON/SEOUL (Yonhap News) ― The chief South Korean and U.S. military officers met Tuesday at the Pentagon to sign a preliminary agreement for a new operational plan against potential North Korean provocations, sources and officials said. Army Gen. Jung Seung-jo, chairman of South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, arrived in Washington earlier in the day after visiting a military command near C...

The government will submit a bill next month for a law revision that would double fines against illegal fishing, in its latest effort to counteract Chinese fishing boats poaching in South Korean waters in the Yellow Sea, an official said Saturday. Korea has vowed to take tougher measures against illegal fishing by Chinese vessels in the Yellow Sea after a coastguard officer was stabbed to death ...

The U.S. is set to import antiquated firearms from South Korea that were previously banned from entry, officials here said Thursday. Defense ministry officials said the United States has approved imports of M1 Garrand rifles, which were used by U.S. forces during the 1950-53 Korean War. “The U.S. sent an approval letter in September last year,” a ministry official said. “The U.S. will be willin...

The defense ministry on Thursday reached an agreement with a state-run science laboratory to borrow the latter’s technical data and patent information to develop military supplies. The ministry signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), under which the ministry will be able to access technical information to manufacture and commercialize...