US military reconnaissance aircraft flew over the Seoul metropolitan area Tuesday, in a move that appears aimed at reinforcing surveillance activities over the Korean Peninsula following North Korea’s recent projectile launches. According to Aircraft Spots, an aviation tracker site, the US Air Force’s RC-135W reconnaissance aircraft flew over Seoul and Gyeonggi Province on Tuesday. The reconnaissance aircraft also patrolled over South Korea on May 8, a day before Pyongyang fired two projectiles

Upon receiving a letter from the Military Manpower Administration summoning him for his mandatory medical exam, Choi Seong-ryong, who had just turned 19, was both excited and worried. It signaled that he was now an adult with the responsibility to serve in the military.Technically still at war with North Korea, South Korea maintains a draft system that requires almost all able-bodied male citizens aged 19 to 36 to serve in the military for about two years. A mother and son get blood drawn at the

Seoul’s Defense Ministry said Monday that it was reinforcing its missile defense system, while maintaining that further analysis is needed to determine whether the short-range missiles fired by North Korea last week were ballistic missiles. Since North Korea fired multiple projectiles into the East Sea on May 4 and again Thursday, the South Korean government has delayed revealing the types of projectiles that were launched. The Defense Ministry confirmed that Thursday’s incident involved two sho

President Moon Jae-in instructed the military Friday to keep trying to reduce tensions and build confidence on the Korean Peninsula by faithfully implementing related defense agreements with North Korea.He issued the order, receiving a report from Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo, Gen. Park Han-Ki, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the top commanders of the Army, the Navy, the Air Force and Marine Corps at the presidential compound, Moon's office said.The session was held about three w

Defense officials from South Korea, the US and Japan will meet here in early May for annual trilateral talks, the Defense Ministry said Sunday, amid tensions between Seoul and Tokyo over an incident in the East Sea in December. Japan has accused a South Korean warship of locking its fire-control radar on a Japanese maritime patrol aircraft, a claim South Korea denies.The goal of the Defense Trilateral Talks, which have been held every year since 2008, is to deepen cooperation on regional securit

South Korea, the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations and other partner countries will kick off a combined maritime security exercise in the southern port city of Busan this week, the Navy said Sunday.The two-part exercise aimed at countering maritime crime, including illicit transactions of weapons and other banned items, will take place in Busan from Monday to Thursday and in Singapore from May 9-13. (Yonhap)The exercise involves 18 member countries of the maritime security expert

If World War III were to break out, the inter-Korean divide would likely be one of the major conflicts fought, and it could also trigger a nuclear war, a recent commentary suggests. That conclusion is based on the outcome of a war game recently conducted by a US Marine Corps school.In a commentary published on the website War on the Rocks, James Lacey, a professor of strategic studies at the Marine Corps War College in Quantico, Virginia, shared the results of a war game he recently conducted. I

Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo met US congressional leaders Wednesday and asked for their unwavering support for the maintenance of the strong alliance between the two countries, his office said. During his meeting with Sen. Chris Coons and Sen. Maggie Hassan in Seoul, Jeong expressed appreciation for their support for peace-building initiatives on the Korean Peninsula, while noting that the Seoul-Washington alliance and the joint defense posture “are stronger than ever before.”Jeong Kyeong-d

A South Korean government helicopter briefly violated the border with North Korea during a mission to put out a forest fire, the Joint Chiefs of Staff has said.The helicopter affiliated with the Korea Forest Service accidentally flew around 1.7 kilometers north of the inter-Korean military demarcation line at around 6:09 p.m. Monday while trying to extinguish the fire in the border town of Hwacheon, Gangwon Province, according to the JCS. (Yonhap)One minute later, the helicopter returned to the

　South Korea’s defense technology ranked ninth in the world last year, with 80 percent of US levels, a state-run military research agency said.　According to the triennial report published by the Defense Agency for Technology and Quality, the comparative level of Korea’s overall defense technology was tied with Italy, among 16 major countries. 　The US topped the list, followed by France, Russia, Germany, and Britain. China was sixth, and Japan and Israel came next.

Defense technologies of South Korea were assessed to be the world's ninth most advanced as of last year, and about 80 percent of the US levels, a state-run military research agency said Tuesday.According to the triennial report published by the Defense Agency for Technology and Quality, the comparative level of South Korea's overall defense technology remained at the world's ninth, tied with Italy, among 16 major countries.  (Yonhap)The United States topped the list, followed by France, Russia,

USFK ‘unequivocally’ denies conducting any tests on biological agents, but people are worried.

A Japanese military attache visited South Korea's defense ministry on Thursday to discuss the agenda for annual trilateral security talks among Seoul, Washington and Tokyo slated for next month, a ministry official said.Toru Nakashima of the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force visited the ministry compound in Seoul to prepare for the planned Defense Trilateral Talks, a working-level meeting set to be held in Seoul. The exact date for the DTT has yet to be officially announced. (Yonhap)The first v

Following the recent crash of an F-35A in Japan, countries who also deploy the stealth fighter jet manufactured by US-based Lockheed Martin have raised concerns regarding its safety and functioning.According to the Japanese Defense Ministry, an F-35A fighter jet crashed into the Pacific Ocean close to northern Japan on Tuesday evening. The wreckage from the warplane’s tail was found and recovered from the sea late Tuesday night.  Japan Coast Guard vessel and a US military aircraft conduct rescue

A North Korean propaganda website denounced Seoul’s deployment of stealth fighter jets Sunday, calling it a breach of the inter-Korean military agreement that could lead to “catastrophic outcomes.” In a statement titled, “What the introduction of high-tech weapons show,” Pyongyang’s Uriminzokkiri said it was a betrayal for South Korea to deploy the two F-35A jets, which arrived at a key air base of the South’s Air Force on March 29. Stealth fighter jet F-35A lands on the Air Force base in Cheong