The Korea Herald

JCS warns against N.K. provocation

Oct 7, 2015

Joint Chiefs of Staff chief Gen. Lee Sun-jin on Wednesday warned North Korea against escalating cross-border tension through nuclear and missile threats, pledging to beef up the South’s deterrence and take stern punishment in case of another provocation. At his inauguration ceremony, the newly minted chairman also vowed to establish “omnidirectional readiness,” saying the communist neighbor will continue to stage provocations at an unanticipated place and time. “Based on solid military readiness
Korea, British navy chiefs discuss cooperation

Oct 6, 2015

South Korea's Navy Chief of Staff Adm. Jung Ho-sup Tuesday discussed ways to expand naval cooperation with his British counterpart, the Navy said.In the meeting with Adm. George Zambellas, the chief of the naval staff of the Royal Navy, the officials also delved into how to further tighten their cooperation in global peacekeeping operations, as well as in the defense manufacturing industry, the Navy said.The security situation on the Korean Peninsula was also part of the discussion. Zambellas ar
JCS nominee grilled over political views

Oct 5, 2015

Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman nominee Lee Sun-jin drew fire during a parliamentary hearing Monday, as lawmakers questioned his controversial views on former presidents’ military coups. He was also grilled over a golf trip he took shortly after a North Korean land mine injured two South Korean troops in August.Controversy has been brewing after the 61-year-old Army general was found to have described former President Park Chung-hee’s 1961 coup as a “military revolution” in his master’s thesis in
JCS chief nominee says no plan to adopt THAAD

Oct 5, 2015

South Korea has no plan yet to adopt the U.S.' Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system although its local deployment could benefit the South Korean military, the Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman designate said Monday."At this moment, our military does not have any plan to introduce THAAD," Army Gen. Lee Sun-jin said in a parliamentary confirmation hearing. "The military currently has weapon systems it is trying to deploy within the Korean Air and Missile Defense system," he added.The remarks we
‘JCS chief nominee played golf despite N.K. landmine attack’

Oct 4, 2015

Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman-nominee Lee Sun-jin was playing golf on Aug. 9 when North Korea was reported to have carried out a landmine provocation that wounded two South Korean troops, an opposition lawmaker revealed Sunday.JCS Chairman-nominee Lee Sun-jin (Yonhap)Kim Kwang-jin of the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy, criticized his golfing on the day as an “inappropriate” act, raising the question of whether he could perform well in the military’s top position.“While he w
IAEA chief to visit Seoul for talks on N.K. nukes

Oct 4, 2015

The head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog will visit Seoul this week to meet with Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se and other officials on ways to denuclearize North Korea, the Foreign Ministry said Sunday.The two-day visit starting on Tuesday by Yukiya Amano, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, will allow for serious discussions on the North Korean nuclear issue as the country threatens to conduct a nuclear and long-range rocket test, the ministry said in a statement.The visit c
‘Military Olympics’ kicks off in Mungyeong

Oct 2, 2015

More than 7,000 military executives and soldiers from about 120 countries gathered Friday in Mungyeong, North Gyeongsang Province, as the world’s largest sports competition among servicemen kicked off with the aim of promoting friendship and peace. Organized by the International Military Sports Council and supervised by Seoul’s Defense Ministry, the Military World Games’ set out for a 10-day run under the theme, “Friendship together, peace forever.” South Korea`s guards of honor perform during
Seoul to develop 800km missile by 2017

Oct 1, 2015

South Korea plans to complete its development and deployment of a ballistic missile with a range of 800 kilometers by 2017, as it seeks to counter the evolving nuclear and missile threats posed by North Korea.Military sources said that the state-run Agency for Defense Development had put forward the plan in its five-year policy outline, which was adopted right after the Park Geun-hye administration assumed office in February 2013.“Currently, we have developed ballistic missiles with a range of u
Defense minister requests public support for military

Oct 1, 2015

Defense Minister Han Min-koo sought Thursday to drum up public support for his troops as South Korea marked the 67th anniversary of the military's founding."The military is making its utmost efforts to fulfill its duty to rush to where it's most needed and to safeguard the life and property of the people," Han said in his Armed Forces Day message.The military deserves public support only when they stick to their duty, he said, appealing to the people to "extend greater trust and love" toward the
Korea to develop 800-km range missiles by 2017

Oct 1, 2015

South Korea is pushing to finish its development of ballistic missiles with a range of 800 kilometers by 2017 to deploy them against North Korea's advancing nuclear and missile capacities, officials said Thursday."The Agency for Defense Development has proposed the year 2017 as the time frame for the extension of its ballistic missiles' range in a five-year development plan," one government official said, referring to the defense development agency's road map under the Park Geun-hye administrati
Senior Japanese defense official to visit Seoul

Sept 30, 2015

Japan plans to dispatch a senior defense official to a military athlete competition scheduled to kick off this week in Korea and is expected to discuss security cooperation with policymakers here, sources said Wednesday. The three-day trip from Thursday by Parliamentary Vice Defense Minister Kenji Harada came after Tokyo shelved its initial plan to send Minister Gen. Nakatani. The visit was chiefly designed for the Military World Games in Mungyeong, North Gyeongsang Province, but had boosted ant
S. Korea, China to hold joint anti-piracy drill in Gulf of Aden

Sept 30, 2015

The navies of South Korea and China will hold a joint anti-piracy drill in the Gulf of Aden, according to China's military on Wednesday, in the latest sign of military cooperation between the two nations. Both South Korea and China have joined international anti-piracy patrols in the Gulf of Aden to combat piracy off the coast of Somalia. Rear Adm. Yu Manjiang, commander of China's naval unit in the region, visited South Korean destroyer Chungmugong Yi Sun-sin, which is conducting an anti-piracy
S. Korea to dispatch military engineers to conflict zones

Sept 29, 2015

President Park Geun-hye said Monday that South Korea will dispatch additional military engineers to conflict zones as it steps up efforts to boost U.N. peacekeeping operations."They will be assisting reconstruction and humanitarian activities in conflict zones," Park said in the leader's summit on peacekeeping at the U.N. that was co-chaired by U.S. President Barack Obama and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.Still, Park did not provide details as to the size and specific countries to which Sou
Koreas likely to meet next week for religious chiefs' gathering

Sept 25, 2015

The Unification Ministry is expected to approve plans by officials of South Korea's pan-religious group to visit North Korea next week to prepare for talks among the two Koreas' religious leaders, a government source said Friday. Officials from the Korean Conference of Religion for Peace (KCRP), an organization representing the South's seven largest religious groups, are likely to hold a meeting with their North Korean counterparts in the border city of Kaesong on Tuesday, the source said.
Korea opens probe into suspicious KF-X project

Sept 25, 2015

Cheong Wa Dae, South Korean presidential office, has opened its probe into the military's landmark indigenous fighter jet project amid growing suspicions over the multibillion-dollar defense acquisition program, according to a military official Friday. "Cheong Wa Dae's senior secretary for civil affairs' office demanded on Thursday the Defense Acquisition Program Administration submit documents related to the KF-X project," the military official said on condition of anonymity. An artist's r