US defense giant Boeing is seeking to win more orders from South Korea for its Chinook heavy-lift helicopters amid Seoul's efforts to reinforce readiness against North Korean threats. The company touted the CH-47ER variant for South Korea's plans to acquire new special operations choppers during a tour of its production facility in Mesa, Arizona to a group of reporters from the defense ministry's press corps last Thursday. In April, South Korea's defense authorities endorsed

The head of South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, Kim Myung-soo, on Tuesday visited the Capital Defense Command to assess readiness against enemy uncrewed aerial vehicles, or UAVs, infiltrating Seoul's airspace. The JCS chairman called for thorough preparations for countering possible enemy threats that could arise in Seoul and nearby areas, especially in the skies. Over his visit to the command force in the capital, he said close coordination among the military, police and government

Seoul moves to launch solid-fuel, four-stage space rocket in 2025

A group of US fighter jets stationed in South Korea joined an annual aerial exercise in Singapore last month, the US Air Force has said, with a commercial aircraft refueling the fighters en route to the city-state for the first time. The US military deployed six F-16s of the 51st Fighter Wing at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, 60 kilometers south of Seoul, to participate in the bilateral Commando Sling exercise with the Singaporean Air Force at Paya Lebar Air Base from Nov. 6 to 24. During the flig

The United States has approved a potential sale to South Korea of munitions for the operation of F-35 radar-evading fighter jets and related equipment to help improve the Asian ally's defense capabilities, a government agency said Friday. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency under the Department of Defense made the announcement on the potential government-to-government Foreign Military Sale (FMS) estimated to cost US$271 million. South Korea has made a request to purchase 39 AIM-120C-8 A

Space has emerged as an extended battlefield for the rival Koreas as they have successfully launched their own spy satellites into orbit and are gearing up to send more to better monitor each other amid an intensifying arms race, analysts said Saturday. South Korea's first homegrown spy satellite was launched from U.S. Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on Friday (local time). It successfully entered orbit and communicated with a ground station a little over an

South Korea successfully launched its first indigenous military spy satellite from a U.S. military base in California Friday (local time), the defense ministry said, in a culmination of Seoul's quest for space-based intelligence capabilities amid growing North Korean threats. The launch of the satellite atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base came after Pyongyang claimed success in its own spy satellite launch last week -- a move that underscored a growing inter-Kor

Hanwha Ocean is leading a government research project on defense and security technology for building stealthy warships, according to the company on Wednesday. The 50-year-old shipbuilding company, acquired this year by Hanwha Group, said in a press release it signed the contract with the government’s Korea Research Institute for Defense Technology Planning and Advancement. The project, which is to be completed by May 2028 under the contract, aims to design new demagnetizing equipment for

S. Korean military may restore disarmed guard post 580 meters from NK post

South Korea will push for using commercial satellites in low Earth orbit in a military communication system to efficiently enhance combat capability of the armed forces, the state arms procurement agency said Tuesday. The Defense Rapid Acquisition Technology Research Institute under the state-run Agency for Defense Development signed a 39.8 billion won ($30.6 million) project with Hanwha Systems Co. for development of the military communication system using Hanwha's commercial satellites op

Yoon instructs firm military readiness posture, meticulous monitoring of NK movements

South Korea is set to attend an international cyberdefense exercise led by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization for the first time to enhance collaboration with NATO in the cyberspace domain, the defense ministry said Monday. NATO's flagship annual cyber exercise, called Cyber Coalition 2023, takes place in Estonia from Monday to Friday, involving 35 NATO members and partners as well as the European Union to strengthen their joint ability to counter threats in the cyber domain. South Kore

South Korea, the United States and Japan jointly conducted naval drills in waters south of the Korean Peninsula on Sunday to bolster their defense posture against North Korea's evolving nuclear and missile threats, the South's Navy said. The joint exercise took place in southeastern waters off Jeju Island involving the U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson, which has been docked at a naval base in Busan, 320 kilometers southeast of Seoul. The South Korean Navy's Ae

President Yoon Suk Yeol approved the appointment of new Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) Chairman Kim Myung-soo on Saturday, officials said, making him the first top-ranking military officer to come from the Navy in a decade. According to the presidential office and the JCS, Naval Operations Commander Vice Adm. Kim was appointed as the new JCS chief without a confirmation report from the National Assembly. Kim underwent a parliamentary confirmation hearing earlier this month but failed to win t

A former Pentagon official argued against the idea of South Korea acquiring nuclear-powered submarines (SSNs) in a media contribution piece on Friday, citing high costs, operational realities and other challenges. Dov S. Zakheim, who served as undersecretary of defense from 2001 to 2004, made the case in the piece carried by The Hill, a US media outlet, as he pointed out a continuing debate in South Korea over whether the country should possess SSNs. The debate has gained traction in recent ye