South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff will lead a combined military exercise with the US from a new command center in March amid growing threats from North Korea, military officials said Monday. "During the upcoming Key Resolve exercise, Seoul's JCS will be responsible for exercise planning and control, operation of opposing forces, and after-drill meetings," an official at the defense ministry said. The exercise's command center will be set up in an underground bunker of South Korea's Capital Def

South Korea completed the deployment of the latest upgraded model of Apache helicopters, a military official said Friday.The country had signed a $1.6 billion contract with the US in 2013 to buy 36 AH-64Es, an upgraded model of the AH-64D Longbow.An Apache helicopter (Yonhap)The AH-64E is a heavily armed helicopter featuring more powerful, fuel-efficient engines and enhanced rotor blades. It has improved aircraft handling compared to older models with superior performance and agility at higher a

South Korea's defense ministry said Friday the pledges made by presidential hopefuls to reduce the mandatory service period in the military and abolishing the conscription system lack viability.As South Korea is still technically at war with the North, all able-bodied men between the ages of 18 and 35 must serve in the military for about two years under the existing system.Moon Jae-in, a potential candidate from the main opposition, has been claiming the service period should be reduced, while G

South Korea and the Unites States’ defense chiefs are seeking to hold their first bilateral meeting in Seoul next month since the inauguration of new US president Donald Trump, Seoul’s Defense Ministry said Wednesday. The ministry said it is working with Washington on a meeting between Defense Minister Han Min-koo and US Defense Secretary James Mattis, who is considering a visit to Japan and South Korea early next month, according to reports by Japanese media outlets citing US officials.“We are

South Korea and the United States are arranging their first defense ministers' talks in Seoul next month since the inauguration of Donald Trump, the defense ministry said Wednesday, US Defense Secretary James Mattis reportedly plans to visit Japan and South Korea in his first overseas trip after he was named to head the Pentagon."We are in talks with our US counterparts to hold the defense ministers' meeting early next month in Seoul. We are fine-tuning the detailed schedule," a ministry officia

South Korea's Acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn on Tuesday called on Army recruits to ensure their combat readiness through intensive physical and mental training, amid growing military threats from North Korea.During his visit to the Korea Army Training Center in Nonsan, 213 kilometers south of Seoul, Hwang also ordered military instructors to lead efforts to improve barrack culture, which has frequently drawn flak for being too rigid and, in some cases, abusive.Acting President

The air forces of South Korea and the United States are conducting a two-week joint military drill to hone their skills on rescuing downed pilots in enemy territory, the military said Tuesday.The biannual drill comes amid growing threats from North Korea. In his New Year's address, leader Kim Jong-un said the North had entered the final stage of preparations to test-fire an intercontinental ballistic missile that could reach the US mainland.     Some 130 Korean pararescuemen and 250 of their US

South Korea will bolster its detection and surveillance capabilities this year to better counter North Korea's weapons of mass destruction, the defense ministry said Tuesday. In 2017, the military is planning to deploy 10 new weapons systems to more effectively deal with threats posed by Pyongyang's nuclear and other unconventional weapons, the Ministry of National Defense said in a statement. The new systems include chemical, biological and radiologicalreconnaissance vehicles, the towed array s

  

 New types of cyberattacks linked to Internet of Things devices against key government agencies and social infrastructure-related facilities are likely to increase this year, a report showed Monday.According to the report by the state-run Korea Internet & Security Agency, a series of so-called distributed denial of service attacks on infrastructure systems through IoT-enabled devices may occur just ahead of a presidential race in the country.The agency said the DDoS attacks may occur with the ai

    US President Donald Trump could strike a surprise deal with North Korea over its nuclear program, while adopting a more hawkish policy toward China, Pyongyang’s main ally, said Park Hwee-rhak, the dean of the graduate school of politics and leadership at Kookmin University.The most concerning situation, he said, is that Washington might acknowledge Pyongyang’s current nuclear capability in exchange for getting the reclusive regime to agree to stop building nukes capable of hitting the US con

South Korea, the United States and Japan on Friday began a three-day naval exercise designed to counter North Korean missiles amid growing indications that Pyongyang is ready to test-fire an intercontinental ballistic missile in time for Donald Trump‘s inauguration as US president. According to the South Korean Navy, the joint maritime exercise involves three Aegis-equipped destroyers capable of detecting, tracking and intercepting ICBM. Seoul deployed its first Aegis destroyer, the Sejong the G

South Korea, the United States and Japan on Friday kicked off a naval exercise aimed at countering North Korean missiles amid growing signs that Pyongyang is ready to test-fire an intercontinental ballistic missile. The Navy said Aegis-equipped destroyers from the three countries will take part in the three-day maritime exercise to detect and trace North Korean missiles under simulated conditions. The missile warning exercise, third of its kind, is aimed at boost their combined capabilities to r

South Korea has signed an agreement with Botswana to promote bilateral military cooperation as it strives to expand military ties amid growing North Korean threats, the defense ministry said Wednesday. Defense Minister Han Min-koo and his Botswana counterpart Shaw Kgathi discussed ways to promote meetings of high-ranking military officials and defense industry deals, the Ministry of National Defense said in a statement. "Han explained the current security situation on the Korean Peninsula, citin

South Korea will deploy 12 additional maritime choppers by 2022 to better counter growing North Korean submarine threats, the state defense procurement agency said Tuesday. The Defense Acquisition Program Administration said the military plans to invest about 900 billion won ($768 million) to pick a helicopter model for future service in the country's Navy.The three models being considered are AgustaWestland's AW-159, Sikorsky's MH-60R, and NHIndustries' NH-90."We are planning to sign a deal wit