South Korea plans to invest 2.7 trillion won ($2.3 billion) in the next 10 years to develop drones for military use, the arms procurement agency said Tuesday. Under the plan, the country will develop various drones to carry out missions ranging from surveillance to firing grenades and rifles, according to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration. Combat experiments are under way with a rifle and grenade launchers attached at the bottom of drones, it said. The agency will complete secur

Cheong Wa Dae said Monday it is impossible for the United States to use any military force on the Korean Peninsula without South Korea's consent. It was responding to a description in a forthcoming book authored by Bob Woodward, a Washington Post journalist, that the United States had carefully reviewed using nuclear weapons against North Korea in response to its military provocations in 2017. "What we can say clearly is that the use of a nuclear weapon is not (included) in our operation

Defense Minister nominee Suh Wook said Monday that the ministry should consult with the public before deciding whether to grant the members of K-pop group BTS exemptions from mandatory military service. “The service should be carried out by all able-bodied men in an equitable manner,” the sitting Army chief said in a written opinion submitted to the parliamentary defense committee set to open a hearing Wednesday on his credentials as defense chief. All able-bodied men must serve

South Korea’s nominee for defense minister, Gen. Suh Wook said Monday that North Korea is unlikely to test a submarine-launched ballistic missile around Oct. 10, given the short preparation time between now and then, when it celebrates the anniversary of the foundation of its ruling party. “No activity involving an imminent SLBM launch is seen,” the sitting Army chief said in a written answer submitted to the parliamentary defense committee set to open a hearing Wednesday to l

The defense ministry has eased restrictions on vacationing by soldiers following the government's relaxation of the social distancing scheme, officials said Monday. Last month, the ministry banned soldiers from going on vacations and restricted their off-installation movement, as the country began to see a surge in COVID-19 infections. "Vacations will be allowed for new recruits and those who have not traveled off-base for a long time based on the decision by their leadership," Depu

The South Korean Navy has joined a US-led multinational maritime exercise in the Pacific, military officials said Saturday. According to the officials, the navies of South Korea, the United States, Japan and Australia are engaged in the three-day joint maritime exercise, Pacific Vanguard, in waters near Guam, scheduled to continue through Sunday. The South Korean Navy has dispatched the 7,600-ton Aegis destroyer Seoae Ryu Sung-ryong and the 4,400-ton Chungmugong Yi Sun-shin to the exercise.

US Army chief Gen. James McConville said Tuesday he does not see South Korea and the United States returning soon to their full-scale joint military exercises, amid the coronavirus pandemic. “We think those (larger exercises) are very, very important. But COVID-19 introduced a kind of a new fog and friction. That just makes these exercises a little more difficult,” McConville told a teleconference hosted by Defense News. South Korea and the US scaled down their annual drills in Aug

South Korea and the US will hold biannual defense talks this week, discussing regional security and bilateral issues, including the planned transfer of wartime operational control from Washington to Seoul, the Defense Ministry said Wednesday. 　 The 18th Korea-US Integrated Defense Dialogue is set to take place Wednesday and Friday via videoconference due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Deputy Defense Minister Chung Suk-hwan and David Helvey, US assistant secretary of defense for Indo-Pacific affairs

South Korea has decided to mass-produce a newly developed 120-millimeter self-propelled mortar system later this year, the arms procurement agency said Wednesday. The government held a defense project promotion committee meeting and decided to sign a 770 billion-won ($648 million) contract in the fourth quarter to produce the mortar system for deployment next year, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration said. The new weapon, which was developed with indigenous technologies last year,

The South Korean military said Monday it was opening its trauma center early on Wednesday to help with coronavirus care amid a surge in the number of critically ill COVID-19 patients here. The center was to open in January next year. Sixty-eight health workers, including 5 military doctors and 10 military nurses, will be dispatched. It has prepared 40 beds specifically for COVID-19 patients. A group of military health workers were sent a week earlier to the military Capital Hospital to treat

A US surveillance aircraft has flown over South Korea earlier this week, an aviation tracker said Friday, on an apparent mission to monitor North Korea. The US Air Force's E-8C, or JSTARS, was spotted in the skies over the central part of South Korea and the metropolitan area the previous day, No Callsign tweeted. The flight came days before the North's founding anniversary of the communist government, which falls on Sept. 9. As a platform for airborne command and control, surveillance and

South Korean defense firm Hanwha Defense was named the preferred bidder for an artillery project worth about 1 trillion won ($842 million) in Australia, which involves building self-propelled K9 howitzers and K10 ammunition resupply vehicles, the Australian Defense Ministry said Thursday. “Through this project, this Government is delivering the capability Army needs while creating local jobs in and around Geelong that will grow our highly skilled workforce,” Australian Defense Minis

An Army soldier stationed in the eastern coastal county of Yangyang tested positive for the new coronavirus after coming into contact with an infected colleague, the defense ministry said Thursday. The soldier has been in isolation after the colleague was confirmed to have COVID-19 following a visit to Seoul for vacation in mid-August. The greater Seoul area has seen a surge in the number of confirmed cases since around that time. He initially tested negative but received a positive result i

South Korean military doctors will be dispatched to understaffed civilian health facilities to help treat coronavirus patients, as trainee doctors carry on their strike amid a surge in the number of severely and critically ill COVID-19 patients, the Defense Ministry said Wednesday. Starting Friday, 22 military doctors will begin work at nine facilities in the Seoul area, including hospitals, screening clinics and other designated centers treating COVID-19 patients. More doctors are expected to

The Ministry of National Defense said Tuesday that it was seeking a 5 percent increase in its budget for next year, with most of the total 52.9 trillion won ($44.7 billion) linked to personnel training and facilities maintenance. “We will make sure to invest in beefing up our capabilities to counter any security threat, both conventional and unconventional,” the ministry said. The budget is drawn as South Korea seeks to deter aggression from North Korea amid stalled nuclear talks, w