South Korean police said Monday North Korea had penetrated into the internal networks of the affiliates of two local conglomerates and stole and subsequently deleted some 42,000 documents, including some containing military information.According to the National Police Agency (NPA), in July 2014 the North started hacking the networks of South Korean telecoms giant SK Group and the Hanjin Group which has the country's top flag carrier Korean Air Lines Co. under its wing. Korean Air makes parts for

South Korea received its first batch of Wildcat choppers made by British helicopter manufacturer AgustaWestland on Monday with the Navy aiming to deploy them to frontline units by the middle of next year.The four AW159 Wildcat combat helicopters will be deployed after undergoing a series of tests on functions, according to the Navy. Seoul plans to take delivery of four more Wildcats at the end of this year.The chopper, known to be equipped with an active electronically scanned array radar, is ca

South Korea spends relatively less than other countries facing similar security situations in terms of its defense budget to gross domestic product ratio, data showed Monday, as the government is making a case for more money to be allocated to cope with heightened tensions on the Korean Peninsula. According to the data compiled by the defense ministry for a promotional magazine, South Korea spent $36.4 billion last year, which was equal to 2.42 percent of its annual GDP. The ratio stayed relativ

The USS Mississippi (SSN-782), a nuclear reactor-powered United States submarine, entered the port of Busan on Monday as part of the vessel’s maiden voyage to the Asian region, the U.S. military said Monday.The 7,800-ton Virginia-class attack submarine is one of the U.S. Navy's newest vessels, having started its mission with the U.S. Pacific Fleet in June 2012. "With a crew of approximately 141 sailors, the Mississippi will conduct a multitude of missions while maintaining proficiency of the lat

South Korean Defense Minister Han Min-koo will visit France this week as part of an ongoing effort by Seoul to increase pressure on North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons program, the defense ministry said Monday.Han will travel to France from Tuesday to Thursday to meet his French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian in order to discuss the two countries' joint efforts to pressure the North as well as ways to expand bilateral defense cooperation measures, the ministry said.Both South Korea and Fr

The Ministry of National Defense has demanded a 5.3 percent on-year increase in its defense budget for 2017 as it plans to accelerate efforts to bolster the welfare of military conscripts and build up the country's air defense system, the ministry said Friday.The ministry has submitted its defense budget demand to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, requesting a budget of 40.87 trillion won ($35.18 billion) for next year, according to a statement. The defense budget for this year stands at 38.

South Korea's new naval contingency unit is conducting a warfare exercise in the West Sea in its first stand-alone military drill aimed at fending off North Korea's potential aggression, the military said Wednesday. "The quick reaction unit is carrying out an exercise in the West Sea area from May 5-11," the Marine Corps said in a statement.This is the first exercise conducted by the some 4,000-strong contingency team comprised of Marine Corps and Navy troops. The unit was launched in March to c

South Korea should capitalize on its evolving robotics technology to cope with future combat operations, a local researcher said Wednesday, noting that ground-based military robots would put the country at an advantage in a potential conflict with poorly-equipped North Korean forces.Kim Do-jong, a researcher at the state-run Agency for Defense Development, said in his latest research paper that the South can utilize robots as part of its "reverse asymmetric weapons systems" to counter the North'

South Korea's military and coast guard on Wednesday began two-day maritime drills aimed at better safeguarding the country's easternmost islets of Dokdo, amid Japan's persistent sovereignty claim.The South Korean military mobilized some 10 vessels, P-3 maritime surveillance aircraft and Lynx antisubmarine helicopters, along with Marine Corps personnel for the maneuvers in the East Sea, military officials said.The drills are being staged based on a scenario under which foreign forces are making a

The U.S. missile defense system is designed to counter "limited attacks from Iran and North Korea" and are not aimed at the strategic deterrence forces of Russia and China, the White House said Tuesday.The White House Office of Management and Budget made the point in a policy statement, expressing opposition to a proposal to remove the word "limited" from a section of the National Missile Defense Act of 1999 that says the U.S. policy is to deploy "an effective National Missile Defense system cap

South Korea has developed new wheeled armored combat vehicles that can greatly enhance the mobility and striking power of its infantry troops, the defense acquisition agency said Tuesday. The Defense Acquisition Program Administration’s wheeled armored vehicle project, undertaken by Hyundai Rotem since 2012, has been successfully completed, the DAPA said in a statement. It said the locally built vehicles passed their final qualification test on May 9. The project was aimed at improving the mobil

Senior officials from Russia and China held talks in Beijing and shared concerns about the possible deployment of an advanced U.S. missile defense system to South Korea, according to China's official media on Tuesday. The talks, led by Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov and Kong Xuanyou, China's assistant foreign minister, were held on Monday, on the same day the U.S. and China began their high-level talks in Beijing. During the Monday talks, Russia and China expressed their "firm opp