WASHINGTON -- Scaling down combined military exercises between South Korea and the United States does have an impact on readiness, a former commander of US Forces Korea said Tuesday. Ret. Gen. Walter Sharp was referring to the major allied exercises that have been reduced in scope to facilitate denuclearization negotiations between the US and North Korea. "I think that scaling down, and doing exercises in other ways, does have an effect on readiness," he said during a virtual semina

A US soldier tested positive for the coronavirus Tuesday, a day after arriving in South Korea, the US Forces Korea said, bringing the total number of infections among its population to 28. He arrived at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, some 70 kilometers south of Seoul, on Monday on a US government-arranged charter flight, according to USFK. USFK said the soldier has been in isolation at a hospital on the base after being confirmed with the COVID-19 virus. He is the fourth US soldier who has bee

South Korea plans to send rotational peacekeeping troops to South Sudan starting this month, after months of delay due to the coronavirus, the defense ministry said Tuesday.  A fresh batch of troops for its 300-strong Hanbit Unit was supposed to be in the war-torn nation in March on peacekeeping missions, but the replacement was delayed at the request of South Sudan due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. Part of the unit members returned home on March 27 on a chartered flight without repla

WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump has named a new deputy commander for US Forces Korea, with the rank of lieutenant general, the Pentagon announced Monday. Air Force Maj. Gen. Scott L. Pleus was appointed to the rank of three-star general and assigned as deputy commander of USFK, the Pentagon said in a release. Pleus has also been assigned as commander of the Air Component Command, United Nations Command; commander of the Air Component Command, Combined Forces Command; and commander of

An Army officer has tested positive for the coronavirus, becoming the military's eighth case linked to clubs in Seoul's Itaewon district, while most other military personnel suspected of links to Itaewon clubs or visitors tested negative, the defense ministry said Tuesday. The new case brought the total number of COVID-19 infections among the military population to 47. The latest patient, a first lieutenant based in Yongin, south of Seoul, is believed to have contracted the virus after coming

The South Korean military's cyber command said Sunday another senior officer has tested positive for the coronavirus after contacting a patient serving at the unit in a case presumed to be linked with a new cluster of infections in the bustling Seoul district of Itaewon. The military is conducting coronavirus tests, based on polymerase chain reaction (PCR), on all the members of the Cyber Operations Command under the direct wing of the Ministry of Defense. The move reflected growing alarm ove

The United States continues to seek a defense cost-sharing agreement with South Korea as neither side wants to see the alliance erode, a State Department official said Friday. R. Clarke Cooper, assistant secretary of state for political-military affairs, said communication has never stopped between the relevant parties, including the two countries' presidents, top diplomats, and top negotiators. His comment contradicts President Donald Trump's claim on Thursday that South Korea "has agre

An American soldier who was recently assigned to the US Forces Korea from Japan tested positive for the novel coronavirus, the military said Friday, bringing the total number of infections among its population to 27. He arrived at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, some 70 kilometers south of Seoul, on Wednesday on a US government-arranged charter flight and was under mandatory quarantine at Camp Humphreys while awaiting the results of his COVID-19 test. He is the third active-duty USFK service me

US President Donald Trump told a press briefing Thursday that South Korea had agreed to pay “substantial money” to the US for the upkeep of the 28,500 American troops stationed here, repeating what he had told Reuters a week earlier. “It costs us a lot of money. And if we’re going to defend countries, they should also respect us by making a contribution,” Trump said. The Trump administration is reportedly pushing Korea to pay about $1.3 billion, up 49 percent fro

South Korea’s military said Friday that traveling for off-base on assignments will resume, easing the anti-virus restrictions put in place since Feb. 22, a day after it reported its first infection. Decisions on overnight stays outside the base and visits at the installation for active-duty troops, still banned, would be announced later, the military said, adding it would gradually lift the ban as risk diminishes. The relaxing of anti-virus rules was in line with the government’s

The military on Friday resumed allowing enlisted service members to go on vacation, the defense ministry said, amid a slowdown in the spread of the new coronavirus. All enlisted service personnel had been banned from off-base trips since mid-February, after the Navy reported the first COVID-19 infection in barracks. Other restrictions, including banning soldiers from staying out and meeting outside visitors, will be eased in phases in consideration of the virus situation down the road, the mi

Defense cost-sharing talks currently under way between South Korea and the United States need to be viewed as being reasonable by all sides, Seoul's foreign ministry said Thursday. In a regular briefing session, foreign ministry spokesperson Kim In-chul said that while both Seoul and Washington want a fair and equitable arrangement, there are differences in perspective, hinting that the United States may have forwarded a new proposal that has not been accepted by its ally.   The official d

A total 1 million masks will be delivered to Korean War veterans globally to recognize their sacrifices for this country, amid the coronavirus pandemic, the Korean War Commemoration Committee said Thursday. Twenty-two nations that provided either ground or medical support will receive the masks. The US, which supplied over 90 percent of overseas troops deployed here, will receive half of the million, while the other 21 countries will share the other half based on the level of their contributi

US Forces Korea (USFK) said Wednesday it will maintain the current health protection level despite South Korea's loosening of social distancing guidelines and will closely monitor developments before making a decision on its possible relaxation. On Wednesday, South Korea ended its monthslong intensive social distancing campaign and switched to "everyday life quarantine" guidance to better support people's return to normal life as it has been able to stabilize the spread of the COVID

South Korea’s Defense Ministry said Wednesday that it would develop autonomous robots by 2024 at the earliest to recover the remains of soldiers killed in the 1950-53 Korean War. The artificial intelligence-powered robots will scan underground to detect human remains, lowering the manual workload for the project, which began in April 2000. About 135,000 soldiers are still missing. The ministry also said it would secure more DNA samples from the missing soldiers’ families by compe