Korea's Cheonghae Unit will take part in a counter-piracy military operation led by the European Union for the first time next month, the defense ministry said Tuesday. The naval unit, currently stationed in the Gulf of Aden between Somalia and Yemen, will partner with EU forces to prevent acts of piracy and armed robbery in the region, the Ministry of National Defense said in a statement. Korea's Cheonghae Unit (Yonhap)The Korean unit's participation in the international counter-piracy operatio

The United States will send its strategic assets to a joint military exercise with South Korea next month as North Korea has escalated tensions with its latest missile launch, military officials said Tuesday. "The two sides have agreed to send such weapons as the F-22 stealth fighter and a nuclear-powered submarine to the Key Resolve and Foal Eagle exercises in March," a defense official familiar with the matter told Yonhap News Agency.  In this photo taken on Feb. 17, 2016, an F-22 stealth figh

Senior defense officials from South Korea, the United States and Japan vowed Tuesday to strengthen intelligence sharing to better counter North Korea's growing missile threats, the defense ministry said.In an hour-long video conference from 7:30 a.m., the US also reaffirmed its commitment to the defense of its key Asian allies, the Ministry of National Defense said in a statement. (Yonhap)The first trilateral talks since Donald Trump became president on Jan. 20 came after North Korea test-fired

North Korea says it has successfully completed the launch of a new type of strategic weapon capable of carrying a nuclear warhead.The Pukguksong-2, a medium long-range ballistic missile, was test-fired Sunday under the supervision of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, according to the North’s state-run Korean Central News Agency. It was propelled by a solid fuel engine and was an upgraded, extended-range version of the Pukguksong-1, a submarine-launched ballistic missile that was tested successful

With its test of a new intermediate-range ballistic missile, North Korea appears to be making progress in its efforts to refine its ballistic missile technologies and secure various delivery methods for nuclear weapons, Seoul officials and analysts said Monday. The North’s state-run Korean Central News Agency said that through Sunday’s launch, the country succeeded in test-firing the Pukguksong-2 -- a surface-to-surface medium- and long-range ballistic missile -- and proving rocket technology th

South Korea's defense chief ordered the military to tighten vigilance against a possible North Korean provocation on Monday, one day after its latest missile test, the defense ministry said. Defense Minister Han Min-koo visited the Aviation Operations Command in Icheon, 80 kilometers south of Seoul, to inspect the ongoing deployment of AH-64D Apache heavy attack helicopters, the ministry said in a statement. This photo provided by the defense ministry shows Defense Minister Han Min-koo (C) visit

In this photo taken Feb. 14, 2016, and provided by the Marine Corps, Marines from South Korea, the US and Thailand jointly conduct an infiltration exercise on a shore in Thailand. (Yonhap)Korea will join a multinational maritime military exercise led by the United States and Thailand in the Southeast Asian country this week, the Navy said Monday.In the annual Cobra Gold drills, headed by the US Pacific Command and the Royal Thai Armed Forces Headquarters, the combined forces practice landing in

South Korea's mechanized troops staged a large-scale river crossing drill to highlight their ability to strike the North even under adverse weather conditions, the Army said Sunday.Units of the 11th mechanized division conducted a frozen fording exercise near Hongcheon, 102 kilometers east of Seoul, on Thursday, it said. In this photo provided by South Korea's military, K-200 armored personnel carriers cross a river near Hongcheon. (Yonhap)"The maneuver was carried out by the troops to check the

The USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier made a port call in Guam on Friday in what could be a preparation to take part in an annual joint military drill between South Korea and the United States slated for March, a military source said.A possible mobilization of the nuclear-powered carrier for the upcoming Key Resolve exercise is aimed at deterring North Korea's growing nuclear and missile threats, it added.In early January, the Nimitz-class carrier departed from Naval Base San Diego, which is the

South Korea's military has revised its long-term defense reform plan to better cope with North Korean threats, including the creation of special units tasked to neutralize its leadership and key facilities in case of contingencies, officials said Thursday. "We have made the revision in a bid to secure the most urgent defense capabilities against North Korean threats over the next five years (through 2021)," a high-ranking ministry official told reporters in a background briefing. "Under the chan

South Korea, Japan and China will hold a trilateral meeting to coordinate their policies on cyber security in Tokyo this week, including their joint response to North Korea's evolving cyber threats, the foreign ministry said Thursday.South Korean Ambassador for International Security Affairs Shin Maeng-ho will meet with his counterparts, Koichi Mizushima of Japan and Long Zhou of China, in the third round of the Cyber Policy Consultation set for Friday, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affai

South Korea's Marine Corps chief on Thursday left for the United States for a week-long visit to discuss enhancing cooperation between the allies and expanding the role of the marines in countering North Korea.  Marine Corps Commander Lt. Gen. Lee Sang-hoon will meet his US counterpart Gen. Robert B. Neller during his trip, in reciprocation of Neller's Seoul visit in October. It marks the first US visit by South Korea's Marines chief in a decade, the Marine Corps said in a statement. Marine Corp

South Korea and the US will employ an operational guideline to counter North Korea’s nuclear and missile facilities including the use of Washington’s advanced missile defense system for the first time during their upcoming annual joint military exercises, Seoul’s military officials said Wednesday. During the Key Resolve computer-simulated drills scheduled to kick off in March, the allies will apply the principles of “4D” -- detect, defense, disrupt and destroy. Adopted in 2015, the concept is a

South Korea and Indonesia opened a joint office on Wednesday to carry out close consultations in the KF-X fighter aircraft development project, the state defense procurement agency said. "The opening of the joint program management office will not only help the two countries exchange views on pending issues during the KF-X project but also allow them to effectively fine-tune differences," Jung Kwang-sun, director general for the KF-X Program Group at the Defense Acquisition Program Administratio