The Korea Herald

Lockheed to assemble Korean T-50 jets

Sept 15, 2011

U.S. company hints at transferring some of stealth technologies to S. Korea FORT WORTH, Texas ― Lockheed Martin will establish facilities in the U.S. for the final assembly of Korea’s T-50 supersonic aircraft to meet the possible U.S. demand for trainer jets, a senior official at the defense giant said last week. It has already reached an agreement on this with Korea Aerospace Industries, the c...
Military to assign more women to combat duties

Sept 15, 2011

SEOUL, Sept. 15 (Yonhap) -- The military will place female officers in more combat duties that have so far been closed to them, a senior official said Thursday. Boo Jae-won, head of the personnel planning bureau at the defense ministry, said 12 combat branches will be open to female soldiers from 2012 to 2014. "We will open up artillery and armor branches of the Army to women," Boo said. "Our p...
U.S. spy plane to begin flights near DMZ soon: report

Sept 15, 2011

The U.S. is poised to start flying a spy plane near the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) to acquire further intelligence on North Korea, a report said. In an article dated Monday, the Stars and Stripes, a U.S. military newspaper, quoted U.S. Air Force officials as saying the U.S. was negotiating with South Korea to fly Global Hawk spy aircraft near the DMZ and the deal was "very close" to being done. "...
Military seeks to improve efficiency in management

Sept 14, 2011

The Ministry of National Defense plans to introduce enhanced management methods in a variety of areas to cut its budget by 2.3 trillion won ($2.1 billion) by 2015, officials said Wednesday. It has decided on around 10 tasks to enhance efficiency in managing military facilities and equipment, and to remove wasteful spending. “In areas of military power enhancement, logistical support and defense...
‘Seoul may face W40tr bill for wartime U.S. support’

Sept 13, 2011

Professor claims replacement of USFK may cost W36tr South Korea may have to provide support worth 30-40 trillion won ($27.8-37 billion) to U.S. troops that will be augmented to fight here in case of a war under a bilateral accord, a defense professor recently claimed. Kwon Heon-cheol, professor at National Defense University, also said that should the U.S. Forces Korea be withdrawn, it may cost...
U.S. biggest arms seller for S. Korea in 2010

Sept 12, 2011

South Korea bought military weapons worth 982 billion won ($910 million) from the United States last year, a state-run arms procurement agency said Monday. Seoul's arms purchase from its strongest political ally accounted for roughly 66 percent of its total arms procurement, according to the report released by the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA). Asia's fourth-largest economy ...
Seismic study points to explosion as cause of Cheonan ship sinking

Sept 7, 2011

An artificial seismic event that occurred at the time of the sinking of the Cheonan last year indicates that an explosion was the cause of the disaster, a study showed Wednesday. Hong Tae-kyung, a South Korean professor at Yonsei University, wrote in a recent paper that a tremor of 1.5 magnitude occurred at the time of the ship sinking on March 26 last year in the Yellow Sea. In the paper, publi...
Coast guard conducts emergency exercise near Ieodo

Sept 6, 2011

South Korea's Coast Guard said on Tuesday that it carried out an emergency exercise near the Ieodo research station south of Jeju Island. The exercise took place near the Ieodo Ocean Research Station, located 150 kilometers south of the resort island, and within the country's exclusive economic zone, authorities said. Coast Guard cutters from Jeju and Seogwipo were used in the exercise that aim...
U.S. begins consultation with Congress for selling drones to South Korea

Sept 1, 2011

By Song Sang-ho The Obama administration is consulting with the U.S. Congress on plans to sell to South Korea Global Hawk surveillance planes and related ground facilities, Reuters reported on Wednesday, citing two sources. South Korea has been seeking to purchase the high-altitude unmanned aerial vehicle as part of efforts to bolster its defense capabilities following the two attacks by North ...
Groundbreaking ceremony for U.S. schools in Pyeongtaek

Sept 1, 2011

The Defense Ministry will hold a ceremony to break ground on new elementary and high schools to be built for children of U.S. military personnel in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, Friday, officials said Thursday. Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin, U.S. Forces Korea commander Gen. James D. Thurman, and other military and government officials will attend the ceremony to mark the beginning of the first ...
Government ordered to pay for cleanup around U.S. base

Sept 1, 2011

A Seoul court has ordered the South Korean government to compensate the Seoul city government for environmental damage caused by an oil leak from a U.S. military camp here, the city said Thursday. The Seoul Central District Court handed down the ruling in favor of the Seoul Metropolitan Government, which filed the damages suit asking the central government to pay 340 million won ($319,608) the c...
Obama government begins consultation with Congress over drone sale to S. Korea: report

Sept 1, 2011
S. Korea close to clinching Indonesia submarine deal

Aug 26, 2011

Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin is to visit Indonesia early next month to seal a $1 billion deal that would result in South Korea’s first submarine exports. If the deal is secured, Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine, which is likely to be chosen as the preferred bidder by the Indonesian government, will sign a memorandum of understanding to sell three 1,400-ton submarines to the Southeast Asian countr...
Defense ministry requests revision of history textbooks

Aug 23, 2011

The Defense Ministry has requested that the Education Ministry revise the criteria for high-school modern Korean history textbooks to strengthen students’ security awareness, officials said Tuesday. In a formal request to the Education Ministry on Aug. 12, it expressed concern that some current textbooks did not properly explain the legitimacy of the Republic of Korea and security threats North ...
S. Korea’s military on alert against hacking attempts: official

Aug 21, 2011

South Korea’s military is on alert against hacking into its computer system, as a suspicious email is spreading among its personnel, an official said Friday. All military staff have been asked to take extra precautions when they open emails from a sender whose address is “navyojo@hanmail.net,” said the military official who requested anonymity. The email in question carries an attached file, an...