The Korea Herald

Failed tech transfer may delay fighter jet project

Sept 24, 2015

Prospects are growing gloomy for Korea’s push to develop an indigenous fighter jet after the country’s arms buyer was found to have failed to secure the transfer of core technologies from the U.S. firm selected to deliver next-generation warplanes. Last September, the state-run Defense Acquisition Program Administration agreed with Maryland-based Lockheed Martin Corp. to acquire 25 technologies as part of their 7.3 trillion won ($6.1 billion) deal to purchase 40 F-35 radar-evading fighters to be
S. Korean, Chilean navy chiefs agree on increasing naval exchanges

Sept 24, 2015

Navy Chief of Staff Adm. Jung Ho-sup and his Chilean counterpart, Adm. Enrique Larranaga, agreed Thursday to expand naval exchanges between their countries, the Navy said. During their meeting held earlier in the day in the Naval Academy in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, the navy chiefs also discussed the security situation of the Korean Peninsula and a joint naval education program, the Navy said in a statement. Also discussed were ways to expand the role of the Chilean military attache
S. Korea begins making mini drones to surveil N. Korea

Sept 23, 2015

South Korea began to churn out mini-size drones Wednesday to better surveil North Korea's military activities along the land and sea borders, the defense acquisition agency said. Local drone manufacturer UCON System delivered its first batch of the unmanned aerial vehicles, known as the Remoeye-002B, after three years of development, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration said in a statement. Measuring 1.4 meters long and 1.8 m wide, the drones can fly at a maximum speed of 80 kilome
Gen. MacArthur had planned to transfer controls to S. Korea during Korean War

Sept 23, 2015

U.S. Gen. Douglas MacArthur had voiced willingness to return controls to South Korea's first president after leading a military operation to recapture Seoul from invading North Korean troops during the 1950-53 Korean War, a document showed Wednesday. Gen. MacArthur led an amphibious operation, named "the Incheon landing mission" on Sept. 15, 1950, as the commander of the Allied Forces which fought against North Korean troops during the three-year conflict. The operation helped turn the tide f
S. Korea, U.S. start defense talks amid looming N. Korean missile launch

Sept 23, 2015

South Korean and U.S. defense officials were to begin their annual two-day senior-level talks on Wednesday to discuss countermeasures on North Korea's possible long-range missile launch in the coming weeks. The Korea-U.S. Integrated Defense Dialogue (KIDD) will run from Wednesday to Thursday in the Ministry of National Defense in Seoul, with each side headed by Yoo Jeh-seung, deputy minister for policy, and Abraham Denmark, deputy assistant secretary of defense for East Asia, and Elaine Bunn,
THAAD will cost 3tr won: Air Force chief

Sept 22, 2015

Stationing an advanced U.S. missile defense unit on the peninsula will cost around 3 trillion won ($2.6 billion), the new Air Force chief of staff said Tuesday, though he reasserted that South Korea and the U.S. are not currently in talks over its purchase.“It should be about, give or take, 3 trillion won,” Gen. Jeong Kyeong-doo said in response to Rep. Kim Kwang-jin of the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy during a parliamentary audit at the Air Force’s headquarters in the Gye
Navy faces compensation claim over delayed naval base project

Sept 22, 2015

The Navy is facing a compensation claim worth more than 23 billion won ($19.5 million) from a construction firm after severe protests delayed a project to build a naval base on Jeju Island, a parliamentary report showed Tuesday. Daelim Engineering & Construction Co., a contractor on the project, has filed a lawsuit, demanding that the Navy pay 23.1 billion won for the loss caused by protesters, the parliamentary report by Rep. Chung Mi-kyung of the ruling Saenuri Party showed. The indemnity c
Is Japan really security threat to Korea?

Sept 21, 2015

Japan’s passage last week of the controversial legislation to expand its security role is stirring public concerns here, with Seoul officials scurrying to allay them by repeating that Tokyo cannot use its forces at will in a Korean emergency. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe attends a parliamentary session. (Yonhap)Amid the growing angst over Japan loosening its postwar stricture on the use of force, the issue of whether the country is really a potential security threat to Korea, as it was i
Most families of dead soldiers get compensation via suits

Sept 21, 2015

Though more than 100 soldiers die while on active duty each year, the majority of their bereaved families receive state compensation through civil lawsuits, a report showed Monday, underscoring their years-long struggle that adds to the already tragic losses. According to Rep. Lim Nae-hyun of the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy, the government has provided compensation for their deaths as a result of litigation in all cases but one since 2012. Of the 26 suits raised, six grou
S. Korea can reject potential U.S. request for Japan forces entry: defense minister

Sept 21, 2015

South Korea is capable of turning down any U.S. request for the entry of Japanese armed forces onto the Korean Peninsula, Defense Minister Han Min-koo said Monday in his latest efforts to defuse concerns over Japan's rearmament moves. Japan passed a package of security bills into law in the wee hours of Saturday, unshackling its previously self defense-only armed forces from limitations imposed after World War II and empowering them to fight in overseas battles. The rearmament step has sparked
Russian security chief due in S. Korea

Sept 21, 2015

Russia's security chief was to arrive in Seoul for talks with top South Korean officials, Cheong Wa Dae said Monday. Nikolai Patrushev, chair of the Russian Security Council, is set to meet with President Park Geun-hye's top security adviser, Kim Kwan-jin, and Ju Chul-ki, senior presidential secretary for foreign affairs, the presidential office said. The one-day trip is part of an exchange of visits of senior officials between the countries on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the estab
Park to grant 2-day vacation to military servicemen

Sept 20, 2015

President Park Geun-hye will grant two-day holidays to military servicemen in celebration of the Korean harvest holiday, Chuseok, the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said Sunday.The vacations will allow noncommissioned officers and other conscripts of lower ranks to take two days off at a time of their choosing, the presidential office said in a statement. "The latest gesture of celebrations was decided in recognition of the efforts the servicemen showed in keeping their combat readiness, espe
S. Korea, Russia to hold high-level security dialogue

Sept 20, 2015

South Korea and Russia are expected to hold their first high-level security dialogue, government sources said Sunday, amid growing nuclear and missile threats from North Korea ahead of a key anniversary next month.Nikolai Patrushev, a close aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin, is likely to visit South Korea before heading to Japan late this month, according to the sources asking not to be named.North Korea has hinted at launching what it called "a series of satellites" ahead of the 70th ann
Hanwha raided over alleged leak of military secrets

Sept 18, 2015

Investigators of the Defense Security Command raided a defense-related office of Hanwha Corp. in central Seoul on Friday as part of a probe into an employee suspected of leaking military secrets.Hanwha Corp. in Seoul (Yonhap)Defense authorities said the raid and search were related to a violation of the Military Secret Protection Act, and that investigators confiscated computer files and other documents to glean evidence for the case. They refused to elaborate further on the investigation.Observ
Korea to sell four T50 trainer jets to Thailand

Sept 17, 2015

By Shin Hyon-hee South Korea on Thursday secured a contract to export four T-50 trainer jets to Thailand in another coup that marks the local defense industry’s growing technological clout. The $110 million agreement was clinched between the Korea Aerospace Industries and the Thai government in Seoul. The supersonic aircraft, built with technical assistance from the American defense giant Lockheed Martin, is scheduled to be delivered by March 2018. The Thai Air Force has been pushing to replace