The Korea Herald

Anthrax panel to conduct on-site survey

Jul 29, 2015

South Korea and the U.S. will conduct a joint on-site investigation at the U.S.’ Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, next Thursday, as their initial step to probe the accidental shipment of a live anthrax sample to the base, Seoul officials said Wednesday.Maj. Gen. Jang Kyung-soo, director general of the policy planning bureau at Seoul’s Defense Ministry, shakes hands with Maj. Gen. Robert F. Hedelund, U.S. Forces Korea assistant chief of staff for policy and plans, before the first
Two Koreas mark armistice agreement

Jul 27, 2015

Over in the South, descendants of veterans who fought in the Korean War participate in a ceremony marking the 62nd anniversary of the Korean War Armistice Agreement and U.N. Forces Participation Day at the Olympic Hall in eastern Seoul on the same day. (Yonhap)The two Koreas on Monday celebrated the end of the 1950-53 Korean War, with commemorations on each side as jarringly different as the current state of the Korean Peninsula separated by economic and ideological disparities and military conf
N.K. rocket threats escalate

Jul 26, 2015

North Korea’s recent deployment of four multiple rocket launchers on a border island is raising questions whether South Korea is sufficiently prepared to handle threats from these rockets and other artillery targeting Seoul and its surrounding areas.This file photo shows North Korea’s forward-deployed artillery piece, marked with a red circle, at its border island of Galdo, 4.5 km from South Korea’s Yeonpyeongdo Island. (Yonhap)　In recent years, defense discourse here has centered on countering
Ruling party chief thanks U.S. veterans of Korean War

Jul 26, 2015

The chief of South Korea's ruling party met with U.S. veterans of the Korean War Saturday and thanked them for their service to the bilateral alliance.Kim Moo-sung, chairman of the Saenuri Party, arrived in the U.S. capital earlier in the day on a nine-day visit that will also take him to New York and Los Angeles.The visit is expected to focus on the allies' joint response to North Korea's nuclear weapons program.While having dinner at a hotel with a group of U.S. veterans of the 1950-53 Korean
Korea vows full probe into U.S. anthrax accident

Jul 24, 2015

South Korea’s Defense Ministry pledged Friday to “promptly and exhaustively” investigate the U.S. military’s accidental shipment of a live anthrax sample to a U.S. base here, after the Pentagon released the outcome of its probe, calling the shipment an “inexcusable mistake.”“We will visit Osan Air Base at the earliest date to exhaustively look into the accidental shipment of the anthrax sample to the unit and check the outcome of the U.S. side’s probe into the case,” the ministry said in a press
Death penalty sought on Army sergeant over bloody shooting rampage

Jul 21, 2015

Military prosecutors sought capital punishment for an Army sergeant on Tuesday for killing and wounding a dozen unarmed fellow soldiers in a shooting rampage at a military outpost near the tensely-guarded eastern border with North Korea last year.The 23-year-old conscript, surnamed Lim, detonated a grenade and sprayed a hail of bullets in June last year in the military outpost of the 22nd Infantry Division stationed near the east-coastal front line, killing five comrades and wounding seven other
N.K. SLBM test ‘destabilizing’: U.S. commander

Jul 20, 2015

North Korea’s perceived ambition to develop a submarine-launched ballistic missile is “destabilizing” the region, a top U.S. Navy official said Monday, warning its lack of transparency would stoke uncertainties and opaque intent may make other countries’ objectives “dangerous.” Amid unabated tension in the South China Sea, Adm. Scott Swift, commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, also reiterated Washington’s opposition to Beijing’s unilateral, coercive approach, while downplaying his surveillance f
U.S. Pacific Fleet commander in Seoul

Jul 19, 2015

Adm. Scott Swift. (U.S. Navy)Adm. Scott Swift, the commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, arrived in Seoul on Sunday for a three-day visit, as part of his first inspection tour of the Asia-Pacific since his inauguration in May.During his visit, the admiral is expected to meet with top South Korean military leaders including Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Choi Yun-hee and Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Chung Ho-seop. During their talks, they are likely to focus on joint efforts to deter North
S. Korea's top nuclear envoy to travel to China

Jul 19, 2015

Seoul's top nuclear envoy will travel to China on Sunday for meetings with his counterpart and experts on Korea, the foreign ministry said. Hwang Joon-kook will be in Shanghai until Tuesday and visit Beijing from Tuesday to Friday for talks with university scholars, think tank researchers and journalists, among other experts. Hwang also plans to meet with Wu Dawei, China's special representative for Korean Peninsula Affairs. Both Hwang and Wu are their governments' top envoys to the now-stall
China conducts 8-day military drills in Yellow Sea

Jul 18, 2015

China has launched regular military exercises in the Yellow Sea and the Bohai Strait, according to China's military newspaper on Saturday. The Chinese People's Liberation Army's Daily, the Chinese military's official newspaper, reported that eight days of "military missions" had begun on Friday in the northern parts of the Yellow Sea and the Bohai Strait, adjacent to the Korean Peninsula. Until next Friday, China's maritime authorities have banned ships from sailing in the affected areas. The br
U.S. approves foreign military sale for S. Korea's KF-16 upgrade project for $2.5 bln

Jul 16, 2015

The United States approved a possible foreign military sale to South Korea for a project to upgrade the country's aging fleet of KF-16 fighter jets for an estimated cost of $2.5 billion (2.86 trillion won), a U.S. defense agency said Wednesday.The cost estimate is about 1 trillion won higher than the 1.75 trillion won contract that South Korea had originally awarded to the U.S. unit of the British defense firm BAE Systems to upgrade 134 KF-16 fighters with better electronic warfare capabilities.
U.S. official says troop cut could affect USFK

Jul 10, 2015

WASHINGTON (Yonhap) ― The U.S. Army’s troop reduction, driven by budget constraints, could ultimately affect South Korea, even though American troops levels in the Asian ally will remain the same in the first round, an Army official said Thursday.Earlier in the day, the Army announced force structure decisions and stationing plans that call for a reduction of the regular Army from 490,000 to 450,000 soldiers in fiscal years 2016 and 2017. The reduction of 40,000 will be completed by the end of f
Navy posthumously promotes soldier killed in 2002 maritime battle with N. Korea

Jul 10, 2015

The Navy on Friday granted a posthumous promotion to a soldier who was killed in a deadly maritime skirmish with North Korea, as a new film rekindled public commemoration of the inter-Korean clash. The Navy decided to promote Chief Petty Officer Han Sang-kook to the rank of senior chief petty officer at a promotion evaluation committee meeting held earlier in the day, it said in a press release. The belated decision came after the Navy revised the date of his death from June 29, 2002 to Aug.
Air Force launches space monitoring body

Jul 8, 2015

The Air Force launched the country’s first space monitoring body Wednesday as part of efforts to better track other countries’ satellites, predict cosmic weather and fend off any future accidents and threats from the air. The Space Operation Center, unveiled at the Air Force’s headquarters in Gyeryong, South Chungcheong Province, is equipped with a common operation picture and situation room to help monitor the movement of satellites in two and three dimensions, its global positioning system’s p
Park vows to expand investment in cybersecurity

Jul 8, 2015

President Park Geun-hye pledged Wednesday to expand investment in cybersecurity, the latest in a series of efforts by South Korea to better deal with potential cyberattacks.She also called for technology development in cybersecurity to make South Korea's cyberspace safer.She made the comments in a video message to mark Information Protection Day. She did not elaborate on details of the proposed expansion of investment.South Korea has been hit by a series of cyberattacks in recent years that offi