Politician, military leader and ethnic Korean Vitaliy Kim talks about his mission to defend Ukraine and his wish to visit Seoul

Strenghtening military cooperation to bring opportunities and challenges for S. Korea, experts say

South Korea and the United States staged combined counter-drone drills at a US air base in a southwestern city last week, US military photos showed Sunday, as Seoul seeks to reinforce readiness following North Korea's drone incursions late last year. Posted on the Pentagon's Defense Visual Information Distribution Service on Friday, photos showed the drills taking place at Kunsan Air Base in Gunsan, 275 kilometers south of Seoul, on Tuesday. One photo depicted a US Air Force officer ai

South Korea plans to adopt a basic plan as early as next month to develop a new advanced guided missile capable of striking North Korean long-range artillery pieces hidden in caves, the state arms procurement agency said Sunday. The envisioned missile will be an upgraded version of the Korean Tactical Surface-to-Surface Missile, which is dubbed the "long-range artillery killer," according to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration. While the existing KTSSM system is operated on

South Korea and the United States plan to incorporate "live, virtual and constructive" training elements in this year's springtime combined military exercise for the first time in five years, the US Forces Korea said Friday, as part of efforts to bolster readiness against evolving North Korean threats. The LVC framework refers to "live" field maneuvers, "virtual" simulation drills and "constructive" war games -- three key elements that are intertwined

A Korean rescue team on Thursday pulled a man in his 70s from the rubble in Antakya, southernmost Turkey, ravaged by the region's worst earthquake in modern history. The team also recovered four bodies from the same site during the rescue and search mission, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Seoul. The survivor was conscious and in relatively good health by the time he was rescued, the ministry added. He was found hours after the Korean team set up base camp at a high school i

Yoon accuses his predecessor Moon of relying on ‘fake peace'

South Korea and the US on Friday staged another military air exercise over the west coast of South Korea by mobilizing their stealth fighters, just two days after US strategic bombers flew to the Korean Peninsula for combined aerial drills. The air combat exercise involved F-22 and F-35B advanced stealth fighters and F-16CM fighting aircraft of the US Air Force and South Korean Air Force’s F-35A stealth fighter jets, according to South Korea’s Air Force. “The combined exercise

South Korea is looking to test-launch a new "high-power" ballistic missile in the near future, an informed source said Wednesday, in a move to bolster deterrence against evolving North Korean military threats. The country has been working on the development of the missile, known as Hyunmoo-5, as a core asset of its deterrence capabilities. Earlier in the day, speculation emerged that the state-run Agency for Defense Development may test-fire it at its Anheung test site in Taean, 15

Seven out of 10 South Koreans see the need for Seoul to independently pursue its own nuclear weapons development program, a survey showed, amid concerns over escalating military threats from Pyongyang and a lack of trust in denuclearization negotiations with North Korea. According to a Gallup Korea poll of 1,000 adults, commissioned by the Chey Institute for Advanced Studies, 76.6 percent replied that the South needs to develop nuclear weapons independently to counter Pyongyang’s intensify

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Tuesday asked the US defense chief to arrange bilateral consultations to establish “effective” extended deterrence mechanisms which could dispel South Koreans’ concerns over North Korean nuclear threats. In return, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin pledged to make every effort for combined defense to clear up South Korea’s doubts over the credibility of the US security commitment and nuclear assurances, senior presidential secreta

Seoul, Washington to facilitate real-time sharing of NK missile data with Tokyo

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin warned Tuesday that if an adversary challenges South Korea or the United States, it would be challenging the two countries' "alliance as a whole," reaffirming America's "ironclad" security commitment to the Asian ally. Austin issued the warning in an exclusive contribution piece to Yonhap News Agency, as he plans to hold talks with South Korean Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup in Seoul later in the day to discuss deterrence against evolving Nort

Yoon vows to support Ukraine people on NATO head’s military support request

Two Chinese fighter jets flew through the overlapping parts of the air defense identification zones of South Korea and China earlier this week, prompting the military here to put its warplanes on standby, officials here said Friday. Their flight on Thursday came just before the Pentagon announced Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will visit Seoul for talks with his South Korean counterpart, Lee Jong-sup, next week in what could be an occasion to highlight their commitment to cementing the bilateral