An aircraft carrier will strengthen South Korea’s naval power at a relatively affordable price, the Navy said Wednesday, amid controversy surrounding its 2 trillion-won ($1.8 billion) project to build the first aircraft carrier by 2033. “The homegrown weapon will rein in North Korea’s aggression and will put us at advantage in the event of conflict. It will help advance our interests in peacetime,” a senior Navy official said at a briefing. The official said Seoul needs

Four service members and a civilian worker for the military have tested positive for the new coronavirus, the latest in a series of infections across the nation, the defense ministry said Wednesday. One Marine in the city of Hwaseong, south of Seoul, and one soldier in the county of Hongcheon, east of Seoul, were confirmed to have been infected following their recent vacations, according to the ministry. One Army officer in the central city of Icheon contracted the virus after coming into cl

Defense ministry officials held a meeting with residents near a US Forces Korea (USFK) firing range in the northern city of Pocheon on Wednesday as part of efforts to address safety and other complaints over firing drills, the ministry said. Residents near the Rodriguez Live Fire Complex in Pocheon, some 45 kilometers north of Seoul, have long complained about noise, unexploded ordnances and other damage incurred by the drills. During the meeting in Pocheon, some 40 government officials, inclu

Conscripting women into the armed forces now would be premature, the Ministry of National Defense said Tuesday, amid fresh debate about making military service compulsory for both women and men. At present, all able-bodied men in South Korea are required to serve in the military or complete an alternative public service program. Women can join the military as officers or noncommissioned officers. “Expanding conscription isn’t a yes-no, black-and-white question because we need to l

The defense ministry said Tuesday any change in the country's military system, such as the introduction of volunteer or female conscription systems, should be decided based on social consensus. Ministry spokesperson Boo Seung-chan made the remark during a regular press briefing after an online petition demanding female conscription earned more than 100,000 signatures as of Tuesday morning. Under the current law, all able-bodied South Korean men must carry out compulsory military service for ab

Three Army soldiers have tested positive for the new coronavirus, bringing the total number of infections reported among the military population to 701, the defense ministry said Tuesday. The soldiers -- one based in the southeastern city of Gyeongsan, the second in the eastern city of Wonju and the third in Namyangju, northeast of Seoul -- were confirmed to have contracted COVID-19 after virus cases were reported at their units, according to the ministry. Of the total confirmed cases, 672 hav

An Army soldier has tested positive for the new coronavirus while away from his base for vacation, the defense ministry said Monday. The soldier, based in Siheung, south of Seoul, was confirmed to have contracted COVID-19 after a family member was found to be infected with the virus, according to the ministry. The latest case raised the total number of infections reported among the military population to 698. Of them, 670 have been fully cured and 28 are under treatment. Nationwide, South Kor

Defense Minister Suh Wook and Gen. Won In-choul, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, received their first doses of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine on Friday as they prepared to travel overseas. Suh is taking part in the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on June 4-5, while Won will attend a change-of-command ceremony for the US Indo-Pacific Command in Hawaii later this month. There Won will meet with his US and Japanese counterparts to discuss expanding military ties. South Korea’s

South Korea and Indonesia will soon resume work on their joint fighter jet project, as Indonesia works to catch up on its already late payments and return engineers to production lines here, Korea’s arms procurement agency said Thursday. The Indonesian defense minister, who took part in the rollout ceremony here on April 9, when Korea revealed a prototype jet, agreed to work out a plan for the resumption of the project, saying Indonesia remains committed to the joint work, a senior agency

South Korea and Indonesia will soon resume talks about their joint fighter jet development project, an official said, after Indonesia's defense minister attended the jet's prototype unveiling ceremony in a show of commitment to the project. Indonesia is a partner for the 8.8 trillion won ($7.9 billion) project, called IF-X in the country, but doubts have grown over Jakarta's commitment to the joint program after the Southeast Asian country stopped making payments for the 20 percent of the total

An artificial intelligence (AI)-based security system will be set up at a military unit guarding the eastern coastal border, the defense ministry said Thursday, after a North Korean man crossed the border undetected earlier this year. The North Korean man swam ashore in the South in the eastern border town of Goseong on Feb. 16. He was caught on the military surveillance cameras 10 times but soldiers failed to notice eight of them even after alarm bells rang. Under the plan reported to Defens

Two Army soldiers and a Marine have tested positive for the new coronavirus, the defense ministry said Thursday. A soldier in Namyangju, northeast of Seoul, was confirmed to have contracted COVID-19 after a virus case was reported at his unit. Of 64 troops tested following the initial case, 62 have tested negative while the other soldier is waiting for results, according to the ministry. Another soldier based in Paju, just north of the capital, was found to have been infected while away from h

S. Korea prepares to fly a homegrown fighter despite challenges

A Navy officer and three Army soldiers have tested positive for the new coronavirus, the defense ministry said Wednesday. The Navy officer in Incheon, west of Seoul, was found to have contracted COVID-19 while in quarantine after a family member was confirmed infected, according to the ministry. The Army soldiers -- one each in the central city of Nonsan; Goyang, just north of Seoul; and Namyangju, northeast of the capital -- were infected with the virus after vacation. The latest cases rais

US Forces Korea (USFK) said Wednesday it is suspending the administration of the Johnson & Johnson (J&J) vaccine to its members following US health authorities' recommendation to pause its use amid concerns over blood clot cases. "Following some rare instances of blood clotting in USA based individuals who recently received the Johnson and Johnson COVID-19 vaccine -- and out of an abundance of caution to protect the force based on a joint recommendation by the US FDA and CDC, and D