The defense ministry's prosecutors' office on Tuesday indicted a military intelligence official for allegedly leaking information of South Korean espionage agents operating overseas. The official at the Korea Defense Intelligence Command, whose identity is withheld, was arrested earlier this month on allegations of handing over personal information of "black agents" to a Chinese national of Korean descent, who is possibly an informant for North Korea's intelligence agenc

South Korea and the United States will hold their seventh round of negotiations in Seoul this week to determine Seoul's share of the cost for stationing the US Forces Korea, officials said Monday. The talks are set to take place from Tuesday through Thursday, led by the chief negotiators — Lee Tae-woo of South Korea and Linda Specht representing the United States — as the allies work to renew the current six-year deal, which will expire at the end of next year. Under the Special

President Yoon Suk Yeol warned Wednesday that North Korea would face the end of its regime should it attempt to invade South Korea, while inspecting an annual joint exercise with the United States. Yoon made the remark during his visit to the Ground Operations Command in Yongin, south of Seoul, where he received briefings on the Ulchi Freedom Shield. The joint military exercise began Monday for an 11-day run. "The North Korean regime is the most irrational group on Earth that can stage prov

President Yoon Suk Yeol’s defense minister nominee Kim Yong-hyun on Friday said “all options are open” on the possibility of arming South Korea with its own nuclear weapons to keep North Korea in check. He was responding to a press question asking his personal views on South Korea acquiring nuclear weapons on the first day of his work at the Army Club in Seoul’s central Yongsan as nominee. “Under the Yoon administration, our alliance with the US has been elevated to

South Korea’s first military reconnaissance satellite has been declared fit for combat and is to be tasked with full-scale missions within this month, according to the country’s arms procurement agency on Wednesday. The Defense Acquisition Program Administration said on the same day the spy satellite -- a key surveillance and reconnaissance asset of the country’s “kill chain” -- was deemed to be suitable for combat by the Ministry of National Defense. The ministry c

South Korea will stage the first government-wide drill against North Korean nuclear attack scenarios as part of Ulchi Freedom Shield, an annual joint and combined exercise with the United States. The UFS this year is set to take place from Aug. 19 to 29, according to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff and the South Korea-US Combined Forces Command on Monday. The South Korean JCS said alongside the military exercises, the government will hold a first-ever drill training officials and staff

South Korea and the United States will begin a major combined military exercise next week to strengthen their joint defense readiness in the face of evolving North Korean military threats, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said Monday. The annual Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise is set to take place from Aug. 19-29, featuring the main computer simulation-based command post exercise, concurrent field training and civil defense drills. The move comes amid heightened cross-border tensions due to Pyongyang

South Korea and the United States will hold their sixth round of negotiations in Washington next week to determine Seoul's share of the cost for stationing the 28,500-strong US Forces Korea (USFK), the chief US negotiator said Friday. Linda Specht, US lead negotiator for security agreements at the State Department, released a statement on the plan to hold the negotiations in the US capital from Monday through Wednesday. South Korea's delegation is led by Lee Tae-woo, a senior diploma

A military intelligence official has been referred to the prosecution for allegedly leaking information of South Korean espionage agents operating overseas, the defense ministry said Thursday. "The Defense Counterintelligence Command has referred the civilian official at the Korea Defense Intelligence Command to the military prosecution on charges of violating the Military Secret Protection Act ... as well as espionage charges," the defense ministry said in a statement. The official, w

South Korean military officers have voiced caution over permitting new conscripts cellphones over security concerns, according to the Ministry of National Defense on Wednesday. The ministry surveyed officers as a new policy taking effect in September is set to allow soldiers’ use of cellphones more widely. In the survey released by the Defense Ministry, one officer said letting soldiers use cellphones has led to “disruptions in training while violations continue to occur.” &ldq

Secret killer squad formed after failed North Korean attempt to assassinate then-South Korean president

An ongoing investigation into the leak of military secrets, including personal details of South Korean covert agents abroad, has raised serious concerns about the potential impact on the human intelligence operations critical for gathering information on North Korea. South Korea's Defense Ministry confirmed Tuesday that its central military court issued an arrest warrant for a civilian military employee of the Korean Defense Intelligence Command "on charges including leaking military s

A military court has issued a warrant to arrest an official at the military's intelligence command for allegedly leaking information of South Korean espionage agents operating overseas, the defense ministry said Tuesday. The civilian official at the Korea Defense Intelligence Command, whose identity is withheld, is suspected of handing over personal information of so-called black agents to a Chinese national of Korean descent. Black agents refer to intelligence officials conducting undercov

Envisioned command crucial in planning integrated deterrence system, experts say

The military is conducting an investigation into a leak of personal information of agents assigned to an intelligence unit tasked with spying on North Korea, sources said Saturday. The Korea Defense Intelligence Command discovered about a month earlier that classified information, including personal data of its agents stationed overseas, had been leaked, prompting an investigation by the Defense Counterintelligence Command. The leaked information is said to have included those on official cove