A group of lawmakers on Thursday proposed a parliamentary resolution calling on President Moon Jae-in to scrap a South Korea-US missile guideline, saying it has restricted Seoul's missile capabilities and commercial rocket development.The 26 lawmakers, led by Kim Kyung-jin of the minor opposition People's Party, claimed that the "humiliating" guideline has seriously infringed on the country's self-reliant defense capabilities amid the grave security tensions triggered by North Korea's provocatio

South Korea's defense ministry said Thursday it will create a task force on military reform in early September.The move comes days after President Moon Jae-in ordered measures to streamline the country's 625,000-strong armed forces and root out corruption related to arms development and purchases.Moon called for the establishment of the "new war concept," especially on "how to fight." An image of the South Korean defense ministry headquarters in a photo provided by Yonhap News TV. (Yonhap)He str

South Korea and the United States will wrap up their combined defense drills on Thursday as scheduled amid renewed tensions on the peninsula, officials said.The annual Ulchi Freedom Guardian exercise, which started on Aug. 21, has involved more than 50,000 South Korea troops and around 17,500 American service members, including 3,000 from overseas bases.Seven other member states of the United Nations Command -- Australia, Canada, Colombia, Denmark, New Zealand, the Netherlands and Britain -- als

South Korea said Wednesday it will host a vice-ministerial defense forum next week largely on North Korea, cybersecurity and anti-terrorism efforts.The three-day Seoul Defense Dialogue, the sixth of its kind, is to open Wednesday at the Westin Chosun hotel in the country's capital, according to the Ministry of National Defense.With the theme "Visions for Security Cooperation in an Age of Uncertainty," the annual conference will bring together government officials and experts from 38 countries an

S. Korean military released footage of its ballistic missile drills, Tuesday, in response to North Korea firing missiles past neighboring Japanese territory earlier in the morning.The footage showed test launches of Korea’s newly developed and enhanced ballistic missiles with ranges of 800 kilometers and 500 kilometers, according to the Agency for Defense Development.  (Ministry of National Defense)ADD said it has improved the warheads on the ballistic missiles. The recent drills have been the f

JAKARTA -- A South Korean-made submarine has arrived at a port of the Indonesian Navy's Eastern Fleet in Surabaya after 16 days of sailing from South Korea, the country's Navy said Tuesday.The arrival of the new submarine, the KRI Nagapasa 403, on the previous day came after South Korea's Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering handed over the 1,400-ton submarine to the Indonesian Navy at the shipbuilder's Okpo shipyard on Aug. 2.During a ceremony Monday at the Indonesian port to mark the sub

A squadron of four South Korean F-15K fighter jets staged a live-bombing drill against North Korea's leadership on Tuesday in response to its latest ballistic missile launch, the Air Force announced.The aircraft dropped eight MK-84 bombs, each weighing about a ton, at a simulated target at the Pilseung Range in the eastern province of Gangwon.They hit the target accurately, it said, adding the practice was aimed at sharpening the capability of completely destroying "the enemy's leadership" in ca

WASHINGTON -- The United States recognizes the need to "swiftly and smoothly" increase South Korea's ballistic missile capability in the face of North Korea's growing threats, Seoul's No. 2 diplomat said Monday.Vice Foreign Minister Lim Sung-nam made the remark after holding talks with US Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan on the bilateral relationship and North Korea's nuclear program.The two sides especially held "in-depth" talks about Seoul's request to revise a bilateral missile guideli

President Moon Jae-in on Monday called for sweeping military reforms, saying South Korea must become capable of matching the North’s asymmetric threats. Speaking in front of the Ministry of National Defense and Ministry of Veterans and Patriots Affairs, Moon said South Korea’s military capabilities do not match its economic scale and investment over the years. Pointing out that South Korea’s gross domestic product is 45 times larger than that of North Korea, Moon said the country’s defense capab

South Korea's military said Monday it will push for a paradigm shift in its war concept in order to play an "aggressive" role in resolving armed conflicts on the peninsula.In a report to President Moon Jae-in for discussions on the reform and future role of the country's armed forces, the Ministry of National Defense presented its own vision. Among the key tasks is to establish the concept that if a war breaks out on the Korean Peninsula, it will be aggressively staged, according to the ministry

South Korean Defense Minister Song Young-moo will visit the United States next week for talks with his American counterpart on North Korea, his ministry announced Friday.Song is scheduled to hold bilateral talks with Defense Secretary James Mattis at the Pentagon on Wednesday during the trip aimed at confirming the strength of the alliance amid serious security conditions on the Korean Peninsula, it said. (Yonhap)It would be Song's first meeting with Mattis as Seoul's top defense official.Song a

South Korea is poised to complete the installment of a US missile shield next week, officials said Friday, despite unabated controversy over the Moon Jae-in government’s flip-flopping on the timing of the deployment. The stationing of the remaining four launchers of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system comes as the Environment Ministry wraps up a small-scale environmental review. The equipment will join the already operational two launchers, radar and other assets to form a full-fledge

South Korea named a two-star Army general to head the Defense Security Command (DSC) on Friday amid public calls for the reform of the key organization for military investigation and intelligence. Maj. Gen. Lee Suk-koo (Yonhap)The Ministry of National Defense said it has picked Maj. Gen. Lee Suk-koo, who is in charge of operation planning at the Joint Chiefs of Staff, as acting leader of the command.He will be officially appointed to replace Lt. Gen. Cho Hyun-chun after being promoted to the ran

South Korea's military said Friday it will soon begin a full-fledged project to put five indigenous reconnaissance satellites into operation by 2023.The implementation of the ambitious program, worth about 1 trillion won ($880 million), has been delayed for more than four years amid conflict among the defense ministry, the science ministry and the National Intelligence Service over the details of the development and operation. (Yonhap)Under the decision made at the defense program committee, cha

The results of an environmental impact assessment required for the temporary deployment of additional US missile interceptor launchers will be released next week, a presidential aide said Friday, raising the prospects of their earlier-than-expected installation.The Ministry of National Defense has been conducting the assessment that President Moon Jae-in views as a legitimate domestic procedure for hosting a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system aimed at countering North Korea's escalating