The recovery project to return the remains of fallen heroes of the Korean War to their bereaved families is a race against time, as the war generation is aging, the chief of the division in charge of DNA analysis at the Defense Ministry told The Korea Herald.While South Korea is actively carrying out work across the country to recover war remains -- recently expanding the area up to the Demilitarized Zone bordering North Korea -- identifying and returning remains to families continues to make sl

South Korea conducts recovery project to send war dead home

The defense ministers of South Korea and Japan held one-on-one talks Saturday in Singapore for the first time since military relations between the two countries soured over a radar row in December.The meeting between South Korean Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo and his Japanese counterpart Takeshi Iwaya took place on the sidelines of the Asia Security Summit, also known as the Shangri-La Dialogue.Defense ties between Seoul and Tokyo have been strained since December when Japan claimed that a S

One of Asia's biggest annual security meetings opened in Singapore on Friday as major players in the region grapple with complex security challenges, including stalled denuclearization talks with North Korea.  The 18th Asia Security Summit, better known as the Shangri-La Dialogue, brought defense chiefs and top-level military officers from 38 countries across the world together for discussion sessions, as well as bilateral and multilateral talks, according to its organizer, the Internationa

South Korea's defense minister insisted Friday that the official stance of Seoul and Washington remains the same on the North Korean missiles fired earlier this month, despite the US defense chief's characterization of the launches as a violation of UN sanctions.The remark by Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo indicates that South Korea still has not conclusively determined whether or not the short-range missiles, fired on May 9, were ballistic missiles banned under UN Security Council resolution

Two US reconnaissance planes recently flew over Seoul and its surrounding area, an aviation tracker said Friday, on an apparent mission to intensify their surveillance of North Korea in the wake of its short-range missile firings earlier this month.According to Aircraft Spots, an RC-135U Combat Sent and an RC-135W Rivet Joint were detected flying over Seoul and its surrounding Gyeonggi province on Thursday.It is rare for two spy planes to fly simultaneously over Seoul. The deployment came five d

A Korean four-star general is expected to lead joint military drills with the US in August to test Seoul’s readiness to take over wartime operational control of its troops.The first joint exercise for assessment of initial operational capability (IOC), to be held during the combined command-post exercise in August, is likely to be led by a Korean general, according to the ROK-US Combined Forces Command (CFC) and the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The wartime OPCON transfer to Korea will proceed as

The defense ministers of South Korea and Japan are expected to hold a brief meeting while standing, rather than formal talks, on the sidelines of an international conference in Singapore early next month, a Japanese newspaper reported Tuesday.The neighboring countries have been pushing to hold the meeting between South Korean Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo and his Japanese counterpart Takeshi Iwaya in Singapore on the sidelines of the upcoming Asian security forum, known as the Shangri-La Dia

South Korea plans to launch a new civilian-military exercise next week to better brace for various contingencies, the defense and interior ministries said Friday, the latest in a series of reorganizations of defense drills to support peace efforts with North Korea.The inaugural Ulchi Taegeuk exercise will take place from May 27-30 involving around 480,000 civilians, government officials and armed service members from about 4,000 government and related agencies, the ministries said. Replacing the

Gen. Robert Abrams, the top commander of the combined forces here, said the recent launches of short-range missiles by North Korea were part of routine military exercises and that the security situation on the Korean Peninsula has not changed. During a symposium in Honolulu on Wednesday, Abrams said joint military exercises between South Korea and the US were suspended in consideration of diplomatic efforts made by the two governments with North Korea. Abrams serves as the commander of the Unite

While Seoul’s relationships with Tokyo and Beijing are frayed as a result of military disputes over the past few months, military talks are set to resume in hopes of resolving the outstanding issues. South Korea’s Defense Ministry said Tuesday that it is cooperating separately with both neighboring countries to arrange bilateral talks between Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo and his Chinese and Japanese counterparts during the 2019 Shangri-La Dialogue slated to run May 31 to June 2 in Singapore

President Moon Jae-in on Tuesday highlighted the importance of the South Korea-US alliance, saying the alliance remains firm and serves as the foundation of his drive for peace. The meeting was attended by South Korean Minister of National Defense Jeong Kyeong-doo and Gen. Robert Abrams, chief of the US Forces Korea.President Moon Jae-in speaks during a meeting with senior US and South Korean military commanders, including Gen. Robert Abrams (right), chief of the US Forces Korea, at the presiden

President Moon Jae-in will meet with a group of top South Korean and US military generals at his office this week, Cheong Wa Dae announced Monday.He plans to have a luncheon meeting with Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo and Gen. Robert Abrams, chief of the US Forces Korea, on Tuesday, ahead of the June 6 Memorial Day.The other participants include Gen. Park Han-ki, chairman of South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the commanding generals of the country's Army, Navy and Air Force. U.S. Gen. R

WASHINGTON, (Yonhap) -- The US State Department has approved a possible sale of SM-2 Block IIIB ship-to-air missiles to South Korea for an estimated cost of $313.9 million, according to a US defense agency. (Yonhap)The Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) under the Department of Defense said it delivered the required certification notifying Congress of the possible missile sale to Seoul on Thursday.South Korea has made a request to purchase up to 94 rounds of the missiles, and its Navy int

Seoul and Washington are discussing the relocation of their combined forces command, the commander of the ROK-US Combined Forces Command, Gen. Robert Abrams, said in a statement Thursday, following media reports that he had suggested relocating the command’s headquarters in Yongsan to the United States Forces Korea’s Pyeongtaek base.  ROK-US Combined Forces Command in Yongsan, Seoul (Yonhap)“At the appropriate future time, ROK and US government leadership will announce an alliance decision on th