South Korea’s Defense Ministry on Friday announced its plan to develop a new anti-missile approach to destroy North Korean missiles before liftoff under the Yoon Suk Yeol government’s new defense reform initiative. The military underscored that its “top priority is to develop reliable deterrence and response capabilities to North Korean nuclear and missile threats which are currently one of the most serious and realistic threats” in the so-called Defense Reform 4.0 plan,

South Korea and the United States will revive theater-level field training exercises after a five-year hiatus to enhance the alliance’s defense and readiness posture against escalating threats from North Korea. The annual springtime combined exercise, dubbed as “Freedom Shield,” will be staged from March 13-23, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff and the United States Forces Korea said Friday in a joint statement. “Freedom Shield is designed to strengthen defense

South Korea and the United States plan to kick off a combined springtime military exercise later this month, the allies announced Friday, as they are striving to beef up deterrence against North Korea's evolving nuclear and missile threats. The Freedom Shield exercise is scheduled to take place from March 13-23 without a break, marking the longest-ever edition of their joint computer-simulation command post exercise, according to the South's Joint Chiefs of Staff and the US Forces Kore

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The South Korean military on Thursday disclosed that South Korean and US special operations forces have staged monthlong “Teak Knife” military exercises since early February, practicing infiltration and precision strikes on key targets in North Korea, in an apparent warning message to North Korea. The rare disclosure came as South Korea and the US are scheduled to conduct annual, large-scale military exercises in mid-March and as North Korea has ratcheted up its bellicose rhetoric an

South Korea has asked the US Indo-Pacific Command to revise the US military’s reference to international waters between Japan and South Korea from the “Sea of Japan” to a neutral description, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff confirmed Thursday. The navies of South Korea, the United States and Japan conducted a trilateral missile defense exercise outside the territorial waters of South Korea and Japan on Wednesday to enhance military interoperability and readiness again

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South Korea's Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup has visited a Polish arms company in Warsaw, his office said Thursday, a trip highlighting his focus on deepening defense industry cooperation with Poland. Lee arrived in the country on Wednesday for talks with his Polish counterpart, Mariusz Blaszczak, as the European country has emerged as a major buyer of South Korean weapons systems. Shortly after arrival, the minister visited the state-owned Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa and met with Sebastian Chw

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The defense chiefs of South Korea and the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday agreed to expand joint development and production of weapons, the South Korean Defense Ministry said on Wednesday. South Korean Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup and his Emirati counterpart Mohammed Ahmed Al Bowardi discussed defense and arms industry cooperation, among other pending issues, at in-person talks in Abu Dhabi, according to a statement from South Korea’s Defense Ministry. The bilateral defense ministerial me

Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup has visited a major defense exhibition in the United Arab Emirates to support South Korean companies showcasing their products there, his office said Tuesday. Lee attended the International Defence Exhibition & Conference 2023 in Abu Dhabi on Monday, a day after he arrived in the country for talks with his counterpart, Mohammed Ahmed Al Bowardi. The five-day exhibition, which runs until Friday, brings together senior defense officials from across the world and m

South Korea is seeking to publish a new overarching national defense strategy next month to chart a mid-and long-term direction of the country's security policy amid growing North Korean military threats, Seoul's defense ministry said Tuesday. The document, akin to the United States' National Defense Strategy, will replace the existing National Defense Policy. It puts forward a policy direction for a 15-year period and will be published every five years, according to the ministry.

The South Korean defense chief said Friday that the military does not accept the recent court ruling acknowledging the accountability of South Korean troops for civilian carnage during the Vietnam War. Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup underscored that South Korean troops stationed in Vietnam did not commit any wartime civilian massacres, citing records and testimonies compiled by the military. “The Defense Ministry cannot agree with the court ruling,” Lee told the National Assembly&rsqu

South Korea and the United States will stage a tabletop exercise next week to discuss ways to develop a joint strategy and response to North Korea’s potential use of nuclear weapons amid the North’s continuing nuclear saber-rattling. The discussion-based TTX led by the alliance’s high-level Deterrence Strategy Committee will be conducted on Feb. 22 at the Pentagon in Washington, DC, South Korea’s Defense Ministry said Friday. The DSC TTX has been co-organized by South Kor

The National Assembly's foreign affairs committee on Friday passed a resolution calling for the further strengthening of ties between South Korea and the United States to mark the 70th anniversary of the alliance. "The National Assembly reaffirms that the S. Korea-US alliance was the foundation for the Republic of Korea's democratization and economic growth and continues to function as a linchpin of peace and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula, the region and the world," the