The South Korean Air Force conducted its own combat drill on Monday in lieu of a suspended combined exercise with the United States, amid concerns that the continued halt of joint training might undermine the allies’ readiness posture. 　According to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the South Korean Air Force kicked off a five-day combat drill to replace the Vigilant Ace exercise. The aviation drill was supposed to take place this month, but was suspended in October to support diplomatic efforts to ad

The military plans to change the defense minister's helicopter from the US-made UH-60 to the locally developed Surion, a military source said Sunday.The American model has been used as "commander helicopters" for the defense minister as well as the chiefs of the Army, the Navy and the Air Force. But calls have arisen to replace it with Surion amid criticism that it makes no sense for South Korea to try to export Surion while it uses UH-60 for top commanders. (Yonhap)"We're considering changing t

　The government is likely to require 36 months of service in correctional facilities as an alternative to military service for conscientious objectors, a local media outlet reported following rancorous debates over the matter. 　According to the Yonhap News Agency, the Ministry of National Defense intends to announce the government’s plan Dec. 13 during a meeting with civilian experts. 　The Defense Ministry has considered two options for the alternative service program: 36 months in correctional

South Korea's Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo said Tuesday that its alliance with the United States will serve to buttress ongoing efforts to denuclearize North Korea and build a lasting peace regime on the divided peninsula.Speaking at a forum on the two countries' security partnership, Jeong also said that the envisioned transfer of wartime operational control will offer an opportunity for the alliance to make a "new leap" forward.   Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo (Yonhap)"Facing a transi

South Korea's arms procurement agency said Tuesday it has created a senior-level post to expand exports of weapons and other defense goods.The appointment of Chung Jae-joon to be in charge of international cooperation is part of the organizational change of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration aimed at promoting overseas arms sales and coping with the "fourth industrial revolution" era. (Yonhap)Chung will oversee the operation of the Defense Export Promotion Center established last wee

A Chinese military airplane entered South Korea's air defense identification zone without notice on Monday, less than a month after the last such reported intrusion, Seoul's military authorities said.The Air Force deployed some 10 fighter jets to track the aircraft and send a warning message to the aircraft, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said. (Yonhap)The Chinese plane first entered the KADIZ from northwest of South Korea's southern island of Jeju at around 11 a.m. and flew out of the zone toward Ie

South Korea still hopes to declare an official end to the Korean War before the year's end, an official from the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said Monday, amid an apparent stumbling block in denuclearization talks between the United States and North Korea."Have we not said the goal was to declare an end of the war before the year's end?" Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom said when asked if there has been any changes to the goal. (Yonhap)He, however, noted the move requires the participa

South Korea's Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo has called for an "unshakable" readiness posture in the process of implementing an inter-Korean military accord aimed at reducing tensions and building trust, his office said Monday.Jeong made the call on Friday in his first "command letter" to all armed services since he took office in September, amid worries that the accord could lead to a weakening of South Korea's defense posture when the North has yet to take tangible steps towards denucleariz

In a mountainous region where the two Koreas engaged in one of the fiercest battles during the 1950-53 Korean War, the two sides’ soldiers met in an unusual encounter earlier this month, decades after the war ended without an official peace treaty. While uniformed soldiers carried rifles on their way to Arrowhead Ridge inside the Demilitarized Zone, taking control of the stronghold was not their mission. South Korean soldiers walk at Arrowhead Ridge as they build a tactical road across the Milit

Korea Aerospace Industries, a South Korean defense firm, plans to roll out the prototype of a light armed helicopter for the country's Army in December, its officials said Sunday.The LAH is to replace an aging fleet of the Army's attack choppers, including MD500s and 70 AH-1S Cobras.  (KAI=Yonhap)"Following the rollout of the LAH's prototype next month, an engine test is scheduled in March next year and a maiden flight in May," a KAI official said.Based on the Eurocopter EC 155 helicopter, the L

South Korea is set to deploy newly developed weapon systems next year, including ship-based guided interceptors, defense industry officials said Sunday.The state-run Agency for Defense Development has already completed the development of the guided missile, named Haegung (sea bow), designed to intercept incoming enemy missiles or shoot down aircraft. (Yonhap)It's launched from a vertical platform, with its radar system able to detect several targets simultaneously.In an evaluation test, nine out

South Korea's government on Thursday conducted a major reshuffle of generals and admirals as part of efforts to enhance its military readiness and facilitate defense reform.The defense ministry said that Air Force Lt. Gen. Won In-choul, the director of military support at the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was appointed as deputy JCS chief. Lt. Gen. Won In-choul, new deputy JCS chief (Yonhap)Lt. Gen. Choi Byung-hyuk, commander of the Army's 5th Corps, was named the deputy Army chief of staff, while R. A

The United States' consideration of reducing the size of a major combined exercise with South Korea next year signaled its desire for continued diplomacy with North Korea, but deepened fears over a possible weakening of the allies' defense posture.On Wednesday, US Defense Secretary James Mattis told reporters that the springtime Foal Eagle exercise will be "reduced in scope" and that it is being "reorganized a bit" to keep it at a level that will not be harmful to diplomacy with Pyongyang over i

South Korea and the United States will scale back a joint military exercise next spring to facilitate negotiations over North Korea's nuclear weapons program, US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Wednesday.Mattis told reporters at the Pentagon that the Foal Eagle exercise will be "reduced in scope," the AFP reported. US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis (Yonhap)It will be the fifth joint exercise to be adjusted as a concession to the North following its promise to dismantle its nuclear and ballistic

South Korea's defense ministry denied a news report Wednesday that an Army chopper failed to take off from a border unit to transport a fatally shot soldier last week due to an inter-Korean military agreement.The report cited an opposition lawmaker's claim that the chopper failed to promptly depart due to approval and notification procedures stipulated in the agreement, which slow the mobilization of military aircraft near the inter-Korean border. (Yonhap)"We make it clear that the media report