Dozens of South Korean non-commissioned officers (NCOs) will receive leadership training at a U.S. army base in South Korea this spring, officials said Tuesday.The South’s Army said 65 NCOs will enter a four-week program starting in April at the Eighth U.S. Army Wightman Non-Commissioned Officers Academy. The academy is based in Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi Province, north of Seoul.According to South Korean officials, 50 NCOs will enter the academy’s “Warrior Leader Course,” and 15 more will join the “In

Conventional and nuclear weapons pose continuing threats but the real arms race now on is in cyberspace, a new cyber defense report said.The report by Brussels think tank Security and Defense Agenda received input from Intel Corp. subsidiary McAfee technology security company and leading global secu

The incorporation of the very-high altitude unmanned aerial vehicle Global Hawk into the South Korean military and the U.S. Forces Korea will be delayed due to the U.S. government’s decision to reduce defense spending. On Thursday the U.S. government announced that it will cut defense spending by about $500 billion over the next 10 years. As a result, the U.S. military’s plans to introduce advanced defense systems such as the Global Hawk were also modified. According to reports, the U.S. militar

WASHINGTON (Yonhap News) ― The head of the U.S. Pacific Command said Friday that there will be no “significant” change in the scale and role of American troops in South Korea despite the Pentagon’s plan to cut budgets and slash the number of ground troops.Adm. Robert Willard, however, left open the possibility for some adjustment, based on annual consultations between the allies, given regional security conditions.The agreement to station roughly 30,000 soldiers in Korea is generally to face Nor

South Korea and the U.S. will kick off their two major annual joint military drills later next month, officials of the allies announced Friday.They said the Key Resolve exercise will start on Feb. 27 and go on until March 9. Separately, the Foal Eagle exercise will be held from March 1 to April 30.The Key Resolve will involve about 200,000 South Korean troops, plus 2,100 U.S. troops. About 800 U.S. participants will come from outside South Korea, according to the South Korea-U.S. Combined Forces

South Korea’s Marine Corps on Thursday conducted the first live-fire drill at the islands near the Northern Limit Line in the West Sea since the death of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il.The late North Korean leader died of heart failure on Dec. 17.Thursday’s exercise was conducted by Marine Corps units based on the West Sea islands including Baengnyeongdo and Yeonpyeongdo, and involved Vulcan anti-aircraft guns, 81 millimeter mortars and K-9 self-propelled artillery.According to the Marine Corps

WASHINGTON/SEOUL (Yonhap News) ― The chief South Korean and U.S. military officers met Tuesday at the Pentagon to sign a preliminary agreement for a new operational plan against potential North Korean provocations, sources and officials said.Army Gen. Jung Seung-jo, chairman of South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, arrived in Washington earlier in the day after visiting a military command near Chicago, according to the sources in the U.S. capital.The U.S. Defense Department gave no immediate conf

The government will submit a bill next month for a law revision that would double fines against illegal fishing, in its latest effort to counteract Chinese fishing boats poaching in South Korean waters in the Yellow Sea, an official said Saturday.Korea has vowed to take tougher measures against ille

The U.S. is set to import antiquated firearms from South Korea that were previously banned from entry, officials here said Thursday.Defense ministry officials said the United States has approved imports of M1 Garrand rifles, which were used by U.S. forces during the 1950-53 Korean War.“The U.S. sent an approval letter in September last year,” a ministry official said. “The U.S. will be willing to review legal procedures once we seek to export the rifles.”The official added that an exporter will

The defense ministry on Thursday reached an agreement with a state-run science laboratory to borrow the latter’s technical data and patent information to develop military supplies.The ministry signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), under which the ministry will be able to access technical information to manufacture and commercialize products under the military’s non-weapons system.The non-weapons system includes military supplies, su

South Korean and U.S. Marine Corps will increase joint exercises and strengthen measures for defending the islands near the northern limit line in the West Sea.On Thursday, Commander of the South Korean Marines Lt. Gen. Lee Ho-yeon and U.S. Marine Corps in Korea Commander Maj. Gen. Michael Regner confirmed that the two forces will conduct the largest joint landing exercise in 23 years during the first half of 2112 as agreed last year.The exercise will combine the joint brigade-level landing exer