The United States and South Korea are moving forward in negotiations on the potential deployment of the THAAD missile defense system in the South, and are now focused on working out unspecified "complicated issues," the Pentagon said Monday.Following the North's long-range missile test in February, Seoul and Washington launched official talks about placing a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense battery in the South to bolster defense against missile threats from the communist nation. The move has

South Korea's defense chief said the possible deployment of a U.S. advanced missile defense system to South Korean soil will help "dramatically" enhance Seoul's capacity to counter North Korea's missile threats.Seoul and Washington have been discussing the potential deployment of a Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense battery in the South, where about 28,500 American troops are stationed, in an effort to better defend against growing missile threats from the communist nation."South Korea only has

U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump insisted Sunday that allies should pay 100 percent of the stationing cost for American troops and the U.S. should end the protection offered unless they agree to do so."We right now defend Japan. Japan pays us a small fraction of the cost, a very small fraction. I want them to pay us at least the cost," Trump said in an interview with CNN. "It's actually less than 50 percent. But a general got on and said 50 percent recently. But, even if it wa

Korea's Ministry of National Defense will publish a summary of its biennial defense white paper in six foreign languages starting this year in an effort to help foreign countries have a better understanding of Seoul's defense policies, officials said Sunday.The summary of the 2016 Defense White Paper due out at the end of this year will be published in six foreign languages -- English, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, Spanish and Arabic -- said the officials, adding the abridged foreign-language edit

Defense Secretary Ash Carter said the United States is committed to implementing a full range of military capabilities to deter any North Korean attacks on South Korea, Seoul's defense ministry said Saturday after the allies' defense chiefs held bilateral talks."Secretary of Defense Carter stressed that the U.S. will continue to provide extended deterrence to South Korea, utilizing all categories of military capabilities," the Ministry of National Defense said in a statement.Defense Minister Han

An annual regional defense ministers' summit, the Asia Security Summit, is set to kick off its three-day run in the city-state of Singapore on Friday, with North Korea's ever-growing nuclear ambition and South China Sea rows expected to top this year's agenda.The regional forum, also known as the Shangri-La Dialogue after its venue at the Shangri-La Hotel, will bring together defense ministers from 23 countries, including South Korea, the United States, Japan, China and France. Another 12 countr

South Korea's defense ministry on Friday said the issue of deploying a U.S. advanced missile defense system on South Korean soil will not be discussed at the upcoming meeting of the two countries' defense chiefs."The two countries are in consultation over the deployment of the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense battery on South Korean soil. After the consultation is over, the results will come out," the ministry said in a statement.Seoul's reaction came as U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said

The South Korean Navy said Thursday it has launched a new guided missile frigate which is capable of hitting ground targets inside North Korean in the event of conflict taking place on the divided peninsula.Earlier in the day, the Navy held a ceremony to launch the 2,800-ton frigate named Daegu on Geoje Island, 470 kilometers southeast of Seoul, according to Navy officials.The ship, an improved Incheon-class frigate, not only has ship-to-ground missiles, but will be equipped with the usual array

The South Korean Navy said Thursday it plans to join the Rim of the Pacific exercise, a U.S.-led biennial multinational naval drill, which will kick off late June, in a bid to boost the combat capability of its ships and crew.A group of about 700 servicemen from the Navy and Marine Corps will take part in this year's RIMPAC, which will be held from June 30 to Aug. 4 in waters off Hawaii, according to military officials.The Navy said it plans to send three warships including the Aegis-equipped Se

The United States should consider jointly handling nuclear weapons with South Korea and Japan so as to prevent the key Asian allies from seeking nuclear armament of their own, a U.S. expert has suggested.Evan Braden Montgomery, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, put forward the "combined nuclear planning and nuclear sharing" idea in a recent report, saying the allies could consider independent nuclear armament if North Korea's nuclear capability surges."How mi

More than half of South Korea's senior Army officers are either obese or overweight, many of them gaining weight with age and because of their career-related lifestyle, a study showed Monday.Based on body mass index, 34.9 percent were found to be obese while 25.9 percent were assessed as overweight, according to the study conducted jointly by Prof. Park Jung-sook of Keimyung University's Nursing College and a team led by Prof. Chang Soon-yang of Daegu University's Nursing Department. The study r

South Korean Navy's Aegis destroyers will get an upgraded missile launch system that will allow them to intercept North Korean ballistic missiles, a government source said Sunday.The Navy is moving to install new vertical missile launch systems on its three King Sejong the Great class ships that will allow them to launch the longer range SM-3 and SM-6 ship-to-air missiles, said the military source who declined to be identified.    At present, the ships are only able to fire off the SM-2 missiles