South Korea has had no discussions with the United States on the possible deployment of US intermediate-range missiles on its soil, nor does it plan to do so, the defense ministry said Monday.Some media outlets have speculated that South Korea could be one of candidate sites for US missiles, after Washington pledged to deploy them in Asia and elsewhere to maintain deterrence after withdrawing from an anti-missile treaty with Russia."Our government did not have any official discussions with

South Korea is reviewing whether it is right to continue exchanging military intelligence with Japan under a bilateral information-sharing pact, the defense ministry said Monday, amid speculation Seoul could rescind the agreement over a trade and diplomatic row with Tokyo.Officials in Seoul have hinted at the possibility of scrapping the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) in response to a series of retaliatory measures Japan has taken over a row surrounding wartime force

US Defense Secretary Mark Esper will visit South Korea this week for talks with his South Korean counterpart, the South Korean defense ministry said Sunday.The trip comes as North Korea continues its military provocations against South Korea's joint military exercises with the United States and as Washington reportedly wants Seoul to increase its contribution to the cost of stationing 28,500 American troops in its Asian ally's territory. During his stay in Seoul, Esper will meet with South Korea

South Korea and the United States will stage joint military drills as scheduled despite warnings from North Korea, the South Korean military authority said Sunday.The joint drills will begin Monday with a computer-simulated command post exercise (CPX) to cope with any emergency on the Korean Peninsula and last for half a month, according to the authority.After the CPX, the allies will spend the remaining 10 days intensively verifying Seoul's capabilities for its envisioned retaking of wartime op

South Korea is considering carrying out a combined maritime defense drill on and around its easternmost islets of Dokdo as early as this month, military and government sources said Sunday.The military exercise, if conducted, would come amid an escalating row with Japan over shared history that has spilled into the economic realm after Japan last month imposed a tougher approval process for exports of some chemicals to South Korea.  The row intensified on Friday as Tokyo approved a plan to r

The South Korean and US militaries began construction to improve an accommodation facility within the base of an advanced US missile defense system in the southeastern province of North Gyeongsang on Friday.The Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system was installed on a golf course-turned-military base in Seongju, about 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul, in 2017, as part of efforts to counter missile threats from North Korea. The South Korean and US militaries have since conducted various cons

The United States has no plans to adjust its planned military exercise with South Korea next month, Reuters quoted a US official as saying Wednesday.North Korea said last week that it launched two short-range ballistic missiles to send a "solemn" warning to the South over the exercises, which it condemns as an invasion rehearsal. On Wednesday it fired what Seoul said was two more missiles of a similar kind."No adjustment or change in plans that we're aware of or are planning,"

A North Korean soldier crossed the inter-Korean land border and expressed a desire to defect to South Korea, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said Thursday.The man was spotted moving southward along the Imjin River after crossing the Military Demarcation Line inside the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) in the central part of the inter-Korean border at around 11:38 p.m. on Wednesday, according to the JCS. After confirming that an unidentified object spotted by our thermal observation devices was a person,

The presidential office Cheong Wa Dae on Wednesday convened a National Security Council session over North Korea's firing of short-range ballistic missiles.Earlier in the day, the North fired two ballistic missiles off its east coast, according to South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff.They flew some 250 kilometers, marking the second such launch in less than a week. Chung Eui-yong, the national security adviser, presided over the meeting of the NSC standing committee, according to Cheong Wa Dae.&q

South Korea and the United States have agreed to negotiate in a “rational” and “fair” way for a defense cost-sharing deal, Cheong Wa Dae said Tuesday, denying local news reports that Washington had suggested a specific amount for the renegotiation. “(South Korea and the US) have not yet discussed the specific amount (for the cost-sharing deal). We agreed to negotiate in a rational and fair direction,” a presidential official told reporters. The statement

South Korea and the United States have agreed to conduct discussions in a "reasonable and fair" way on how to share the cost for the upkeep of American troops here, a foreign ministry official here said Tuesday.The two sides talked about the upcoming negotiations over Seoul's share of the cost for the stationing of the 28,500-strong US Forces Korea for next year, when US National Security Adviser John Bolton visited Korea last week, the official said.The local daily JoongAng Ilbo repor

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Monday that countries around the world will join a US-led maritime force off the coast of Iran, after a South Korean newspaper reported that the Asian country plans to send a naval unit to the Strait of Hormuz.Pompeo did not mention any countries by name in his remarks to the Economic Club of Washington, DC But last week he told Fox News that the US had asked South Korea, Britain, France and other nations to join the US initiative to protect the strategical

South Korea is reviewing sending a naval unit to the Strait of Hormuz to take part in the US-led maritime force to protect oil tankers in the strait.On Monday, a local daily reported that Korea has decided to send the Cheonghae Unit that operates in waters off Somalia, citing an unnamed senior government official. However, Seoul’s Defense Ministry said it has not made a decision.  “There have been reports on sending troops to the Strait of Hormuz, but nothing has been decided. W

Photographer takes pictures of Korean War veterans, stresses importance of recording history

South Korea on Saturday honored a group of international soldiers who fought in the 1950-53 Korean War under the UN flag for their service. At a ceremony hosted by the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs, South Korea welcomed a total of 107 war veterans and their family members from 16 countries, including the United States and Australia. "South Korea's dream to settle peace on the Korean Peninsula is also a dream of the UN that saved South Korea from the Korean War," Prime