The United States military on Thursday deployed an artillery unit to South Korea and conducted a live-fire exercise, showcasing the ability to rapidly deploy its units in the event of contingency on the Korean Peninsula. According to the 8th Army in Seoul, its components and the US-based 18th Field Artillery Brigade conducted the joint training in Daecheon, South Chungcheong Province. The artillery brigade departed on Wednesday from its base in Fort Bragg, North Carolina.Titled as “Emergency Dep

A US-based agile Army artillery unit conducted a live-fire exercise along the west coast of South Korea on Thursday, demonstrating its precision-strike capability in rapid deployment, US Forces Korea said.The USFK's Eighth Army said it staged the joint training in Daecheon, South Chungcheong Province, with the 18th Field Artillery Brigade based at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.The Emergency Deployment Readiness Exercise focused on honing the artillery unit's ability to deploy forces to the peninsul

South Korean Defense Minister Song Young-moo on Thursday inspected the front-line vigilance of the country's troops and ordered them to retaliate swiftly against any attacks.Song visited a guard post inside the Demilitarized Zone, along with Rep. Kim Young-woo, chairman of the National Assembly's committee on national defense, according to his ministry.  South Korean Defense Minister Song Young-moo (2nd from R) and Rep. Kim Young-woo Kim (L), chairman of the National Assembly`s committee on nati

South Korea's defense ministry has delayed the creation of an Army command tasked with mobilizing reserve forces, officials said Thursday.The move is in line with the Moon Jae-in administration's wider plan to reform the nation's 625,000-strong troops confronting North Korea's 1.1 million armed forces.Early this year, the ministry announced a plan to establish the new unit, named the Mobilization Force Command. It was reported to then Acting President Hwang Kyo-ahn, who was in charge of state af

Senior South Korean and Chinese military officials held bilateral talks here on Wednesday amid drawn-out diplomatic standoffs between the neighboring countries, South Korea's Army said.The half-an-hour meeting between Gen. Kim Yong-woo, the South Korean Army chief of staff, and Lt. Gen. You Haitao, deputy commander of the Chinese Army, took place on the sidelines of the 10th Pacific Armies Chiefs Conference underway in Seoul.You is leading China's delegation to the biennial conference. He is the

South Korean military officials on Wednesday defended its purchase of more than a dozen 47-D Chinook helicopters from the US Forces Korea in 2014, amid brewing controversy over the decision by the former Park Geun-hye administration.The military bought 14 “outdated” Chinook choppers for 150 billion won ($130 million), according to Rep. Lee Chul-hee of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea.He said the helicopters were half a century old and it was even difficult to get new components. An undated f

South Korea has no immediate plans to build nuclear-powered submarines nor has it discussed the issue with the United States, an official from Seoul's presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said Tuesday.A South Korean newspaper reported that the allies have already reached an agreement on the issue and that it will soon be announced. Cheong Wa Dae (Yonhap)"The report about an agreement between South Korea and the US about nuclear-propelled submarines is not true, and no agreement of any sort has been

The top army officers of South Korea, the United States and Japan exchanged their views on North Korea on Tuesday at a meeting held on the sidelines of the 10th Pacific Armies Chiefs Conference, South Korea's Army said.Gen. Kim Yong-woo, the South Korean Army chief of staff, met with his American and Japanese counterpart -- Gen. Mark A. Milley and Gen. Koji Yamazaki -- in Seoul."(They) assessed the security conditions on the Korean Peninsula, including North Korea's nuclear and missile provocati

The Cabinet approved a measure Tuesday that would allow male soldiers, in addition to their female counterparts, to take an hour off every day for child care if they have very young children.Under the current law, only female soldiers are allowed to use the daily child care time if they have babies younger than 12 months old. But the Cabinet approved an enforcement ordinance giving the benefit to male soldiers too. (Yonhap)In addition, the measure also calls for giving both male and female soldi

A 2-ton military vehicle was unloaded from a C-130 Hercules transport plane flying over the southern region and landed at a targeted zone safely in air-drop training on Tuesday, South Korea's Air Force said.The 5th Tactical Airlift Wing staged the exercise in the vicinity of Uiryeong, South Gyeongsang Province, to hone its capability of delivering heavy equipment using cargo parachutes to areas where land transportation is restricted.The drill started with the unit's aerial delivery rigging team

The US plans to send F-22 Raptor and F-35A Lightning II stealth fighter jets to the Seoul air show to be held next month, South Korea's defense ministry said Tuesday.The Seoul International Aerospace & Defense Exhibition, or Seoul ADEX, will open Oct. 17 for a six-day run at Seoul Air Base, just south of the capital. More than 400 defense firms from 33 countries plan to participate in the biennial event, a combination of flying demonstrations, trade fair and expo, said the ministry. It is expect

WASHINGTON -- The United States Senate on Monday passed a bill that calls for boosting missile defenses and providing greater security assurances to its ally South Korea amid North Korea's growing threats.The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2018 passed 89-8 to inject $700 billion into the Pentagon budget, including some $8.5 billion toward strengthening US missile and defense systems. That was $630 million more than what the Donald Trump administration reportedly sought.The de

Four US F-35B Lightning II stealth jets and two B-1B Lancer strategic bombers flew over Korea on Monday, training with South Korea's F-15K Slam Eagle fighter jets in a show of the alliance's powerful deterrence against North Korea, their militaries announced.During the mission, the aircraft "flew across the Korean Peninsula and practiced their attack capabilities by releasing live weapons at the Pilsung Range training area" in the eastern province of Gangwon, the US Pacific Command said in a sta

The United States plans to send an aircraft carrier to waters near the Korean Peninsula next month for a joint training with South Korea's Navy, the defense ministry said Monday.In a report to the National Assembly, the ministry said the allies will hold the exercise in October involving "the US aircraft carrier strike group."It did not reveal the name of the carrier.South Korea and the US will also conduct a combined missile alert drill joined by Japan between late September and early October,

Former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Monday the world should brace itself for all possibilities, including military options, in a bid to discourage North Korea from its pursuit of nuclear and missile programs."We must be ready to confront any consequences and any eventualities, including military options. to address this. Otherwise North Korea would be emboldened," he said in a keynote speech for the opening of the 10th Pacific Armies Chiefs Conference in Seoul.It was quite unusual for t