The South Korean and US defense chiefs will hold annual security talks in Washington on Wednesday amid concerns that an alleged gap between the two countries’ approaches to North Korea might pose a challenge to the decades-old alliance. 　Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo and his US counterpart, James Mattis, will attend the 50th Security Consultative Meeting, with senior diplomats and defense officials joining the bilateral consultation held annually since 1968. 　The Ministry of National Defense

WASHINGTON -- South Korea and the United States will hold their annual defense ministers' talks in Washington this week over a range of bilateral issues, such as the transfer of wartime operational control, Seoul officials said Monday.Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo and his US counterpart, James Mattis, will attend the 50th Security Consultative Meeting on Wednesday as the allies seek to stay on the same page to achieve the final, fully verified denuclearization of North Korea. Seoul and Washi

South Korea supports the US decision to suspend their major combined air combat training, seeking alternative ways to bolster the combined defense posture, Seoul's defense chief said Monday.In a Singapore meeting with Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo earlier this year, US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis proposed indefinitely postponing the massive Vigilant ACE drill that was slated for December.It was aimed at helping move forward denuclearization talks with North Korea and reducing the defense bu

　With the two Koreas withdrawing firearms and soldiers from guard posts within a jointly controlled area inside the heavily fortified border region, the focus is now on when and how security guards and civilian visitors will be allowed to travel freely inside the restricted area.　The United Nations Command announced Monday that the demilitarization of the Joint Security Area was complete after the US-led organization confirmed the process along with the militaries of South Korea and North Korea.

A Chinese military aircraft entered South Korea's air defense domain without notice again Monday, prompting the Air Force here to scramble fighter jets as a warning, Seoul's defense authorities said.The plane entered the Korea air defense identification zone at around 10:03 a.m. and flew out of it about half an hour later toward Ieo Island, a Seoul-controlled submerged rock south of Jeju Island, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The plane, believed to be a Y-9 reconnaissance aircraft, then

The military chiefs of South Korea, the United States and Japan met in Washington Friday to discuss cooperation on regional contingency and peace issues, the Pentagon said.The talks were led by South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Park Han-ki and his US and Japanese counterparts, Gen. Joseph Dunford and Adm. Katsutoshi Kawano, the Pentagon said in a press release.The leaders were also joined by US Indo-Pacific Command chief Adm. Philip Davidson, US Forces Korea commander Gen. Vincen

South Korea and the United States will hold their annual defense ministers' talks in Washington, DC,next week to discuss the fate of this year's combined air exercise, the transfer of wartime operational control and other issues, Seoul officials said Friday. Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo and his US counterpart, James Mattis, will attend the 50th Security Consultative Meeting on Wednesday amid the allies' efforts to ensure cooperation over denuclearization and a lasting peace regime on the pe

Two Korea’s militaries vow to proceed with withdrawal of guard posts, suspension of hostile acts

Two Koreas pull back firearms and guard posts from Joint Security Area inside DMZ

A Patriot surface-to-air missile blew up Thursday seconds after being launched at a South Korean firing range, the Air Force said.The PAC-2 missile ascended for about four seconds after blastoff at the seaside Daecheon range in South Chungcheong Province during an annual air defense guided missile practice.  (Yonhap)It was programmed to self-destruct in case of an “abnormal” condition. No one was hurt or killed as it exploded over the sea, according to the Air Force.It added that an investigatio

The military chiefs of South Korea and the United States will hold talks in Washington this week, defense officials said Wednesday, after the allies paused some exercises to encourage North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons program.South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Park Han-ki and his US counterpart, Gen. Joe Dunford, will meet for the annual Military Committee Meeting at the Pentagon on Thursday, according to the Pentagon and South Korean defense officials.South Korean Defens

The state troop recruitment agency said Tuesday that it will devise "reasonable" ways to improve the active-duty military service exemption program that critics say has unfairly favored athletes and artists for their onetime wins in international competitions.In its policy briefing during a parliamentary audit, the Military Manpower Administration said that it is currently running a joint task force with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to improve the program "in light of fairness.""T

The two Koreas’ senior military officers are to hold a meeting Friday at the border village inside the Demilitarized Zone, the Defense Ministry said Monday, in an effort to assess the implementation of the comprehensive military agreement signed last month. According to the Ministry of National Defense, the two Koreas’ militaries agreed to hold general-level talks at the truce village of Panmunjom. The meeting will kick off at 10 a.m. in the North Korean building Panmungak. During the meeting, t

The two Koreas’ militaries and the United Nations Command agreed to complete until Thursday the withdrawal of firearms and guard posts from the jointly-controlled area inside the heavily-fortified Demilitarized Zone. During the trilateral meeting held on the border village of Panmunjom, the three militaries confirmed that the two Koreas have cleared landmines near the JSA and a mountainous area inside the DMZ. The disarming JSA and demining operation were a part of a military agreement signed af

The suspension of a scheduled air drill between South Korean and US military forces was first proposed by the Pentagon, the Defense Ministry said Sunday, and added Seoul suggested adjusting the scope of the exercise rather than canceling it altogether. A senior official from the Ministry of National Defense told reporters that while Exercise Vigilant Ace, slated for December, would not go ahead, the South Korean military would proceed with its own unilateral exercises. The official said that Sec