South Korea will select a foreign jet engine maker to power the country's first indigenously-developed combat aircraft by next month, the defense procurement agency said Wednesday.European jet engine giant Eurojet Turbo GmbH is competing against U.S. rival General Electric (GE) for the South Korean deal to procure engines for its high-profile indigenous fighter jet project, known as the Korean Fighter Experimental, or KF-X.The Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) is currently review

Korea's civil rights body ordered the Air Force to revise its discriminatory policy that excludes night college students from getting scholarships, adding that the existing system poses major problems for equality.The country's Air Force currently runs a scholarship program that cherry picks college students through their third year and provides them with tuition and flight education courses so they can become pilots after graduating.The program, however, is only open to those enrolled in daytim

Recent satellite imagery shows camouflage netting over the deck of North Korea's ballistic missile submarine in an indication that the communist nation is forging ahead with its SLBM development, a U.S. website monitoring the North said Tuesday.The May 8 imagery of the Sinpo South Shipyard shows netting has been suspended over the Gorae-class submarine in an sign that the North is continuing to "actively pursue development of both a ballistic missile submarine and submarine-launched ballistic mi

The U.S. Pacific commander called Tuesday for greater trilateral military cooperation with South Korea and Japan as the three countries plan to hold their first joint missile-tracking exercise to better defend against North Korea.Adm. Harry B. Harris Jr. made the remark during a speech at a security seminar in Washington, saying the North is posing a "real threat" with its pursuit of nuclear weapons and delivery missiles in addition to "hundreds of thousands of rockets within range of Seoul."He

South Korea will phase out the military's special rule that exempts natural science and engineering students from the compulsory military service in a move that takes into account the country's dwindling population, the defense ministry said Tuesday.All able-bodied South Korean men are required to finish a two-year military service as the country has been technically at war with North Korea after the 1950-53 Korean War ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty.Annually about 28,000 students with

Some 330 South Korean special forces troops took part in a regional anti-piracy exercise in the South China Sea region with 17 other countries, the defense ministry said Tuesday.The maritime security exercise, which ran from May 1-12 in the waters between Singapore and Brunei, brought together special army and navy forces from the ASEAN Defense Ministers' Meeting Plus, it said.ADMM-Plus is a gathering of 10 ASEAN nations plus eight dialogue partners including South Korea, Japan, China, Russia an

A South Korean squadron achieved 150,000 mishap-free flight hours over a period of 40 years and seven months, the country's Air Force said Sunday. The Air Force said that its 237 Tactical Control Squadron of the 8th Fighter Wing has achieved 150,000 flight hours without any accident after its KA-1 light attack aircraft landed safely at an Air Force base on Friday. This is the longest accident-free record for a single squadron, the Air Force said. "The record is meaningful because the squadron ha

A senior Chinese diplomat has repeated his country's opposition to the possible deployment of an advanced U.S. missile defense system in South Korea.South Korea and the U.S. have begun formal talks on the deployment of a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery in South Korea after North Korea conducted its fourth nuclear test and test-launched a long-range rocket earlier this year. Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Li Baodong expressed "firm opposition" to the possible deployment of a TH

The new commander of the United States military forces in South Korea said Thursday he expects resumption of talks and coordination with North Korea during his first visit to the frontline region separating the two sides.The Joint Security Area (JSA), the inter-Korean truce village where South and North Korean soldiers are standing face-to-face, was the choice for Gen. Vincent Brooks' first field inspection as the top commander of the 28,000-strong U.S. Forces Korea.  "Each time I come back (her

South Korea is carefully monitoring North Korea's nuclear test site to detect any signs of an imminent provocation, the Ministry of National Defense said Thursday, reiterating that Pyongyang remains "ready" to detonate another atomic device at any time. "Our stance (that the North can conduct a nuclear test at any time) remains unchanged," ministry spokesman Moon Sang-gyun during a regular press briefing. "(The North) has completed preparations (for a test) at the Punggye-ri test site. We are co