Ruling party lawmaker accuses USFK chief of violating S. Korea's territorial sovereignty

Rep. Kim Byung-joo of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea on Saturday accused the commander of US Forces Korea of infringing on South Korea's territorial sovereignty over recent remarks concerning the Military Demarcation Line. Kim, a retired four-star Army general and member of the National Assembly's National Defense Committee, called on Gen. Xavier Brunson, commander of 28,500 strong USFK and the United Nations Command, to withdraw the remarks and apologize. "His remarks directly deny the te

2026-10-17 14:30:32:00

Seoul mayor calls for responsible pet ownership

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon on Saturday called for greater responsibility among pet owners as the city opened a two-day animal welfare festival at Yeouido Hangang Park. "More people are enjoying happy lives with companion animals, but there is also a darker side," Oh said at the opening ceremony, referring to challenges surrounding abandoned animals. He urged pet owners to regard their animals as family members for life and take responsibility for them until the end. He made the remarks during a thir

2026-10-17 14:00:58:00

More than 1.5 million flock to see Busan's famous shark

More than 1.5 million people are expected to have visited Busan's North Port waterfront park by Saturday to catch a glimpse of "Bukang-i," a shark that has remained in an artificial canal for a month. The figure is equivalent to nearly half of Busan's population of about 3.23 million. According to local authorities, cumulative visitors stood at 1.496 million as of Friday, including some 32,000 that day. Another 2,150 people had arrived by 9 a.m. Saturday, putting the total on course to surpass 1

2026-10-17 13:52:05:00

Man acquitted over post calling May 18 uprising a 'riot'

A man in his 40s who called the May 18 Democratic Uprising a "riot" in an online post was acquitted on appeal, with the court ruling that the remark amounted to a personal opinion rather than the spread of false information. The Daegu District Court's appellate division on Friday overturned a lower court ruling that fined the 45-year-old man 1 million won ($700) for violating a law banning the dissemination of false information about the 1980 pro-democracy uprising. The man was indicted over a M

2026-10-17 13:41:51:00

Golfing in Pyongyang

A golf event for amateur players was held in Pyongyang this week, the latest in a series of North Korean state media reports highlighting leisure and recreational activities in the country. The autumn golf competition took place at the Pyongyang Golf Course from Tuesday through Thursday, according to the Korean Central News Agency. More than 40 male and female golf enthusiasts participated in individual events divided by gender and age, as well as a mixed doubles competition. The report is part

2026-10-17 11:28:43:00

Robots first, soldiers follow: A glimpse of battlefield tactics in 2040

YANGPYEONG, Gyeonggi Province — South Korea's Army envisions a battlefield where drones and robots find threats, breach dangerous areas and absorb risks before soldiers move in. That vision — part of a broader push to transform a manpower-heavy force into an AI-enabled manned-unmanned force by 2040 — was on display Wednesday at a training ground in Yangpyeong, Gyeonggi Province. The Army staged an integrated future warfare exercise under its Army TIGER+ initiative, combining artificial intellige

2026-10-15 18:04:23:00

Defense minister says Seoul ready for OPCON transfer despite USFK concerns

Defense Minister Kang Shin-chul said Thursday that mutual trust between South Korea and the United States is key to the wartime operational control transfer, saying Seoul could assume OPCON "even now without problems." Kang made the remarks during a National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee audit of the military courts held at the Defense Ministry headquarters in Seoul. "If the South Korea-US alliance proceeds with the transition with mutual trust guaranteed, it will create an even s

2026-10-15 14:53:35:00

Despite strains, core S. Korea-US military sharing remains intact: experts

Experts say core South Korea-US military intelligence exchanges remain largely unaffected despite renewed questions over possible intelligence-sharing restrictions, pointing instead to the Trump administration’s “America First” approach to its allies. Recent concerns have been fueled by contrasting assessments from senior South Korean officials, with some warning that US restrictions could be affecting bilateral intelligence cooperation. Others have played down the friction and stressed that the

2026-10-13 16:10:07:00

No plans for female conscription, military manpower chief says

Military Manpower Administration Commissioner Hong So-young said Monday that the government is not considering mandatory military service for women, despite the steep decline in South Korea's military numbers. "The official position of both the Military Manpower Administration and the Defense Ministry is that we are not considering it at this point," Hong said during a National Assembly National Defense Committee audit of the agency in Daejeon. Hong said public consensus should come first, parti

2026-10-12 14:53:46:00

Unification minister denies cracks in South Korea-US alliance, urges caution in media coverage

Unification Minister Chung Dong-young on Monday rejected claims of growing strains in the South Korea-US alliance, while urging news outlets to exercise caution when reporting on relations with Washington and North Korea. Speaking at a press conference at the Unification Ministry headquarters in Seoul, Chung pushed back against recent reports suggesting that a series of disputes between Seoul and Washington reflect a deterioration in the alliance. "There is absolutely nothing wrong with the Sout

2026-10-12 13:10:45:00