The Marines on Monday carried out live-fire drills with coastal guns on islands in the Yellow Sea, officials said.The Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Korea Hydrographic and Oceanographic Administration said the Marine units on the Yellow Sea islands of Baengnyeong and Yeonpyeong held shooting drills for about two hours starting at 10 a.m. Monday. The units used K-9 self-propelled howitzers, 20-millimeter Vulcans and 81-millimeter mortars.Officials said the JCS notified the KHOA of the exercise sch

South Korea will send a proposal to Israel this month to sell its advanced trainer jets, a government source said Saturday.“We will send a proposal to Israel within this month as the country is seeking to introduce high-end trainer jets,” the source said on condition of anonymity.The official said the government will help Israel assess the performance of the T-50 Golden Eagle trainer jets early next year.Israel is reportedly seeking to replace up to 35 aging A-4 Skyhawk trainer jets between 2014

Korea signed a memorandum of understanding with Indonesia to cooperate in the fields of military supplies and services on Wednesday.The agreement came three months after the two countries signed an MOU to establish a committee on bilateral cooperation in the military equipment industry on Sept. 9.The agreement was signed by Korea’s Army Major General Chun Dong-woon and Indonesian Army Logistics Assistant Major General Hari Krisnomo in Jakarta.Under the agreement, Korea and Indonesia will provide

An Air Force trainer jet crashed on Monday during an exercise, killing both pilots aboard, officials said.The T-59 trainer jet for the Air Force’s 16th Fighter Wing crashed around 2:27 p.m. Monday near the unit at Yecheon, North Gyeongsang Province, about 250 kilometers southeast of Seoul, according to the officials.They said two Air Force majors, a 34-year-old named Park Jeong-soo and a 33-year-old Kwon Seong-ho, were both killed in the crash.Officials said the trainer jet crashed soon after ta

The Navy said on Monday that it will carry out 37 tasks next year as part of its efforts to strengthen its operational readiness. The plans were announced following the biannual commanders’ meeting held in Gyeryong, South Chungcheong Province.The tasks include establishing a combat-oriented human resource management system and reorganizing units according to combat functions that come under four themes.The four themes are: establishing flawless combat readiness, establishing strong naval capabil

DAPA to have open bidding for surveillance dronesAcquisition agency tells Washington it cannot purchase Global Hawk drones for ‘exorbitant prices’By Song Sang-hoSouth Korea’s weapons acquisition agency said on Thursday that it would carry out an open bidding process for its high-profile project to acquire surveillance drones.Defense Acquisition Program Administration also said that it has told Washington that Seoul cannot purchase Global Hawk surveillance aircraft for the “exorbitant prices” it

   BEIJING (AP) _ One person has died and several others have been injured in an explosion at a bank in the central Chinese city of Wuhan.   A city fire and rescue official says the explosion occurred early Thursday evening outside a branch of state-owned China Construction Bank.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff set up the operation headquarters that will oversee security issues at next year’s Nuclear Security Summit.The summit is scheduled for March 26-27 in Seoul. The meeting to be chaired by President Lee Myung-bak will bring together 50 heads of state who will discuss measures to prevent nuclear materials that can be used in acts of aggression from reaching the hands of terrorists and other non-state entities.The newly established headquarters will be responsible for ensuri

SEOUL, Dec. 1 (Yonhap) -- The military court said Thursday it has sentenced two Marine major generals to suspended terms on charges of making false accusations against their former top commander.In a trial held Wednesday, the court handed down six-month suspended terms to the two major generals, sur

The government has decided to send peacekeeping troops to South Sudan next year, sources said Thursday. The decision was made in response to requests from the United Nations made on Aug. 8.Although the decision has yet to be approved by the National Assembly, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who

The Air Force is drawing criticism for not disclosing a failed live fire drill conducted in June using a $1.7 million air-to-ground missile.According to reports, the Air Force conducted a live fire drill with a SLAM-ER missile on June 15. The weapon, fired from an F-15K fighter jet, failed to reach its target and fell into the sea.The Air Force conducted a similar drill on June 17, in which the weapon functioned as intended, and the film taken at the time was revealed on Nov. 23, the first anniv