Resumption or suspension of joint military drills between South Korea and the United States is subject to discussions between the allies, an official from Seoul's presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said Wednesday."As of now, the issue has not been discussed between South Korea and the United States," Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom told a daily press briefing.The remarks came hours after US Secretary of Defense James Mattis said his country had no plans to suspend any more military drills w

WASHINGTON (AFP) -- The United States will end its suspension of military drills on the Korean peninsula, a move that had been decided as a “good faith” measure following President Donald Trump‘s summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, the Pentagon said Tuesday.“We took the step to suspend several of the largest military exercises as a good faith measure,” Defense Secretary Jim Mattis told reporters. “We have no plans to suspend any more.”Mattis, however, did not give any indication that ex

OSAN Air Base -- New US 7th Air Force Commander Lt. Gen. Kenneth S. Wilsbach vowed Monday to keep "unequaled" military readiness to back up ongoing peace efforts with North Korea, as he took the helm of the South Korea-based unit.During his change-of-responsibility ceremony in Pyeongtaek, 70 kilometers south of Seoul, the commander noted the importance of the South Korea-US alliance, calling it "born out of strategic significance and mutual respect.""The strength of the Republic of Korea-US alli

South Korea has decided to prolong its military intelligence sharing deal with Japan for one more year to bolster cooperation in seeking North Korea's denuclearization and regional peace, the defense ministry said Wednesday. (Herald DB)The two countries signed the pact, called the General Security of Military Information Agreement, in November 2016. The deal is automatically prolonged if neither side chooses to end it by 90 days before the end of a one-year period. "Our stance is to keep the agr

US Forces Korea Commander Gen. Vincent Brooks called on North Korea on Wednesday to take “earnest and serious” steps toward denuclearization, citing distrust and misconception as major hurdles to ongoing peace efforts.During a press conference, Brooks also pointed out the need for continued international pressure on the communist regime to ensure it follows through on its avowed commitment to the complete denuclearization of the peninsula.“We still have to see earnest actions being taken on thos

South Korea and the United States opened another round of negotiations Wednesday on sharing the cost of American troops stationed on the Korean peninsula amid differences over how much Seoul should pay.Senior diplomats of the allies started the two-day session at the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses in Seoul at around 10 a.m., officials said. It's the sixth round of talks this year aimed at deciding new terms related to South Korea's financial burden for the US Forces Korea.It comes as Washi

With the South Korean government accelerating its efforts to reduce tension and build trust with North Korea, the military is seeking to stop referencing North Korea as its official enemy in a defense paper to be published this year. 　Citing unidentified multiple government sources, Yonhap News Agency reported Wednesday that the 2018 defense white paper would no longer describe North Korea as a main enemy in a bid to fulfill its pledge to stop hostile acts against North Korea. 　The Ministry of N

Defense Minister Song Young-moo said Tuesday that Seoul will withdraw about 10 border guard posts on a trial basis, in line with the April inter-Korean summit agreement to transform the Demilitarized Zone into a "peace zone."Song did not give a specific timeline for the measure aimed at reducing military tensions and building trust with the communist state, while noting that Pyongyang will also take reciprocal steps in the buffer zone separating the two Koreas. (Yonhap)"What it means is that we

South Korea said Monday it will hold another round of negotiations with the United States this week on sharing the cost of American troops stationed on the peninsula.The two-day session, the sixth of its kind this year, will take place in Seoul from Wednesday, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.It comes amid Washington's call for Seoul to sharply increase its share of the cost of stationing the US Forces Korea and "operational support" from American forces outside the peninsula. (Yonha

South Korea has been considering five candidate sites for an inter-Korean project to excavate the remains of fallen troops left in the Demilitarized Zone during the 1950-53 Korean War, a defense official here said Monday.The sites are Paju, Yeoncheon, Cheolwon, Yanggu and Goseong, where fierce battles occurred during the first major armed conflict of the Cold War. The South proposed some of the sites to the North during general-grade talks late last month."(At the military talks), the two sides

A former US senior airman is serving a 15-year jail sentence for sexually molesting two South Korean male orphans and possessing dozens of child pornography videos, court records showed. Robert Keldgard, who was stationed at Kunsan Air Base, 270 kilometers south of Seoul, between 2012 and 2013, was convicted by a court-martial in April 2016, Col. John Bosone, the commander of the 8th Fighter Wing at the base,  confirmed the information last week in a response to questions from Yonhap News Agency

South Korea's defense ministry plans to gradually remove half of all "unnecessary" coastal and riverside barbed-wire fences across the country to help ease residents' inconveniences, officials said Thursday.The move, which is part of the Defense Reform 2.0 initiative aimed at creating a smaller yet stronger military, came amid Seoul's push for inter-Korean cooperation and rapprochement.The ministry plans to inspect all fences across the nation, which measure about 300 kilometers in total, to det

South and North Korea fully restored their military communication line on the eastern part of the peninsula Wednesday, Seoul's defense ministry said, in a step to build confidence and reduce cross-border tensions.The complete restoration of fax and phone connections was part of an agreement from June's inter-Korean general-grade military talks, the first such meeting in more than a decade. (Yonhap)In July, the two sides also fully restored their military communication line on the western part of

South Korea is in discussion with the US about repatriating the remains of its soldiers killed during the Korean War, a Defense Ministry official said Wednesday, as the US has informed the government that the bodies are stored at a US government agency in Hawaii.The official said the Ministry of National Defense was recently notified by the US government that it has about 35 sets of war remains identified as that of South Korean soldiers. The Defense Ministry will send a forensic team to Hawaii

South Korea's Vice Defense Minister Suh Choo-suk called for Britain's support for Seoul's efforts to foster a lasting peace on the peninsula during his talks with a top British military official on Tuesday, Seoul's defense ministry said.Suh held talks with Gen. Christopher Deverell, the chief of the United Kingdom's Joint Forces Command, who came to Seoul on Sunday for a four-day visit aimed at strengthening bilateral defense cooperation. (Yonhap)"(Suh) said that there need to be unified efforts