North Korea will face psychological warfare by South Korea if the communist country continues with provocations, President Park Geun-hye's defense minister nominee said Thursday.In written answers presented to the National Assembly ahead of his confirmation hearing, Kim Byung-kwan said the South Korean military will "sternly punish the North by employing all means available," including psychological warfare.Kim will undergo a parliamentary confirmation hearing for Park's defense minister on Frid

Hyundai Heavy Industries, the world's largest shipbuilder, was selected to build nine improved versions of Chang Bogo class submarines for the South Korean Navy, the state arms procurement agency said Thursday.The Defense Acquisition and Procurement Agency (DAPA) said it has chosen Hyundai Heavy Industries to build an upgraded version of the 1,200-ton Chang Bogo submarine, in partnership with Germany's ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems.The new version of the diesel-electric attack submarine will weigh

The South Korean Navy has additionally test-fired indigenous anti-submarine torpedoes, but found they weren’t suited for combat assignments after a success rate of only about 60 percent, a military source said Wednesday.After the torpedo failed to hit its target in the initial test in July of last year, the Navy fired off eight more in a period of five months since last October. Five of them successfully passed the test, while three went missing.The state-funded Agency for Defense Development cr

 South Korea's military said Wednesday that it will sternly punish North Korea and its leadership if the North moves forward with provocations, responding to the communist country's warning of attacks over an annual drill by Seoul and Washington set to start next week.   The warning came one day after the North's military threatened to scrap the 1953 armistice that ended the Korean War, citing tensions over South Korean-U.S. joint military exercises and warned a "precise" strike at any time. A t

Around 70 percent of the some 1,000 North Korean missiles are designed to strike South Korean targets, a missile expert said Monday, underscoring the communist state’s increasing asymmetric military threats.“Since the late 1990s, North Korea has produced some 100 missiles of various types each year, and I think the North should have more production capacity by now,” he told reporters on condition of anonymity.Seoul presumes that the North has deployed some 1,000 missiles including intermediate-r

Most civilian workers at the United States Forces Korea may face a furlough in the coming months as the U.S. government’s automatic spending cuts, including a drastic reduction in defense spending, have taken effect, military officials said Monday. Gen. James Thurman, the USFK commander, sent a letter on Feb. 27 to about 10,000 civilian personnel to notify them that they may be placed on periods of unpaid leave if the automatic spending cuts, the so-called “sequester,” take effect. His letter ca

Chuck Hagel started his work Wednesday as U.S. secretary of defense, pledging to accelerate Washington's renewed focus on the Asia-Pacific region and promote partnerships with other nations on global security."I've always believed that America's role in the world is one that -- and we've had variations of this throughout history -- has been one that should engage the world," Hagel said, addressing Pentagon officials at its building on the outskirts of Washington.The former Republican senator's c

Pentagon says there could be ‘some impact’ on national security

A series of defects found in Lockheed Martin’s F-35 fighters pose a hurdle to its plans to sell the costly next-generation fighter jets to U.S. allies, including South Korea. This week, the U.S. Defense Department said a small amount of smoke in the aircraft’s cockpit was found during the testing process. Based on its initial assessment, the Pentagon said the problem appeared to be isolated and software-related.The F-35 jets were also grounded for the second time this year recently because of a

WASHINGTON (AFP) -- The US military suspended all test flights Friday for the new F-35 fighter jet over potential engine problems, officials said, the latest setback for a program dogged by cost overruns and technical glitches.The move was described as a "precautionary measure" after a crack was discovered on a turbine blade in one F-35 engine at Edwards Air Force Base in California."It is too early to know the fleet-wide impact of this finding, however as a precautionary measure, all F-35 fligh