South Korea and the United States plan to use an upcoming combined exercise to better prepare for Seoul to regain wartime operational control of its forces from Washington and to maintain their joint readiness posture, Seoul's defense ministry said Tuesday. It is the first time that the government has confirmed the two countries will stage a major annual exercise this summer, which has drawn keen attention following the cancellation of their springtime one due to COVID-19. "During the 2

Seven more American service members and five dependents tested positive for the new coronavirus upon arrival in South Korea, the US Forces Korea said Monday. Five service personnel and three family members arrived at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, some 70 kilometers south of Seoul, on US government-chartered flights from the United States on July 14, 19, 20 and 22. The remainder arrived at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, from their home country on separate commercial flights on

The Army's decades-old fleet of UH-1H helicopters are being retired this week, with South Korea's homegrown multi-role chopper Surion replacing them, the military said Monday.  The Army held a retirement ceremony, presided over by Aviation Operations Command Commander Maj. Gen. Kang Sun-young, commemorating UH-1H's 52 years of service to defend the country and its people. The Army has operated 129 UH-1H choppers. They flew an accumulated 792,000 hours over 146 million kilometers during

CHANGWON, South Gyeongsang Province -- South Korean defense firm Hanwha Defense said Sunday that it was shipping two Redback infantry fighting vehicles to the Australian Army for testing, part of a project worth roughly 5 trillion won ($4.1 billion). The Australian military will decide whether to make a final offer on the Korean-made vehicles by late 2022, after testing them from November to August next year.　 　 The Redback and Germany’s Rheinmetall Defence are shortlisted for the count

CHANGWON -- Hanwha Defense Co., a South Korean defense manufacturer, said Sunday it will deliver the prototypes of its newly developed armored vehicle to Australia as part of its bid for Canberra's $4.6 billion project to buy new infantry fighting vehicles. Three trial products of the new model, dubbed "Redback," will be sent, with two of them set to depart from the port of Pyeongtaek on the west coast Tuesday and to arrive in Melbourne in late August, according to the company. The

South Korea and the United States have agreed to stage a major combined exercise next month in a scaled-back manner, rather than cancelling it, amid the continued spread of the new coronavirus, sources said Sunday. Whether and how to conduct annual summertime exercises between the two countries have been a focus of attention as their springtime drills were postponed indefinitely due to the coronavirus pandemic. The two sets of exercises, which usually take place in March and August, are also

WASHINGTON -- The US Senate has passed its version of a defense policy bill that contains restrictions against the drawdown of troops in South Korea. The Senate voted 86-14 in favor of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 2021 on Thursday, days after the House of Representatives passed its version. In the Senate version, the bill prohibits the use of the authorized funds to reduce the total number of American troops stationed in South Korea from their current level of

Four more soldiers at front-line units tested positive for the new coronavirus following a cluster infection reported on a nearby base, the defense ministry said Friday, raising concerns over further spread of the virus in barracks. The soldiers from three different bases in Pocheon, some 45 kilometers north of Seoul, were confirmed to have COVID-19, after visiting an on-base church Sunday that confirmed patients from a nearby unit visited on the same day, according to the ministry. The milit

WASHINGTON -- US Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun said Wednesday that he would support a "substantial" US troop presence in South Korea if the two countries can agree on the issues of cost-sharing and the future of the alliance. Biegun made the remark at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing after being asked by Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) to address a recent news report that the Trump administration is weighing options to reduce troop levels in South Korea. "There i

Starting in October, conscientious objectors in Korea who pass a thorough screening process will work in jails for three years instead of serving in the military for about two years. The alternative service system is a major departure from the country’s 67-year history of criminalizing people who refused conscription, regardless of whether they did so on religious grounds.  Technically still at war with North Korea, South Korea requires all able-bodied men to serve in the military

US Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Tuesday he had issued “no orders to withdraw forces in the Korean Peninsula,” but left the door open, saying the Pentagon seeks to optimize US forces through troop adjustments at every command worldwide. “I continue to want to pursue more rotational force deployments into theaters, because it gives us greater strategic flexibility in terms of responding to challenges around the globe,” Esper said at a virtual event hosted by the Inter

At least 13 Army soldiers have tested positive for the new coronavirus at a front-line unit, officials said Wednesday, forcing all other members of the 220-strong unit to go into quarantine amid concerns over the possibility of more infections. Two soldiers at the unit in Pocheon, some 45 kilometers north of Seoul, tested positive for the virus Tuesday after showing fever symptoms the previous day. All other members of the unit then went through testing and 11 were found to have the virus afte

WASHINGTON -- US Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Tuesday he has issued no orders to withdraw troops from South Korea but will continue to look at adjustments to deployments worldwide. Esper's remark follows a news report that the Pentagon presented the White House with options to reduce troop levels in South Korea in March. Speculation of a possible drawdown has increased as the US has demanded South Korea pay significantly more to keep the 28,500 troops stationed there. "I've issued

South Korea and Japan took part in a multilateral anti-piracy drill in waters off Somalia last week, officials said Tuesday, a rare joint military event amid soured bilateral relations. The regular exercise, named Operation Atalanta, took place from July 16-17 in the Gulf of Aden, involving South Korea, Japan and Spain, according to Seoul's military officials. It is led by the European Union Naval Force Somalia. South Korea sent the anti-piracy unit of Cheonghae on the 4,400-ton Dae Jo Young

South Korea successfully launched its first military communication satellite into space Monday, US time, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration said Tuesday.　 On the Falcon 9 rocket developed by US space firm Space X, the Anasis-II satellite lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 5:30 p.m., local time. After separating from the rocket, it tested for ground communication at 7:19 p.m., the arms procurement agency said. The latest launch has made Korea the 10th country in