The Korea Herald

USFK confers annual Good Neighbor Awards

Jul 12, 2011

The U.S. Forces Korea on Monday conferred its annual Good Neighbor Awards to 24 Korean and U.S. civilians and military staff for their contribution to strengthening the alliance between the two nations.Fourteen South Koreans, including Dongducheon Mayor Oh Sea-chang and Pyeongtaek Culture Center head Oh Yong-won, were given the awards in the category of individuals during the ninth GNA ceremony at
Gen. Thurman to be sworn in as USFK commander this week

Jul 12, 2011

The new commander of U.S. forces in Korea is scheduled to begin work later this week, as he has been confirmed by the Senate, a diplomatic source here said Monday.The Senate recently endorsed President Barack Obama's nomination of Gen. James Thurman as head of the 28,000 troops after last month's confirmation hearing, and a change of command ceremony will be held in Seoul Thursday, added the sourc
S. Korean, U.S. air forces to hold aerial refueling drills

Jul 11, 2011

South Korean and U.S. Air Forces have recently reached an agreement to stage an aerial refueling exercise on a regular basis here, using a U.S. in-flight tanker, a military source said Monday.The first joint refueling exercise in which the U.S. is to mobilize its KC-135 tanker currently based in Okinawa, Japan, is expected to take place in the latter half of this year, the source said.“Although ou
Another marine dies in apparent suicide

Jul 11, 2011

Criticism over management of troops deepens in wake of Ganghwa shootingAnother marine was found dead at his unit in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province, in an apparent suicide on Sunday night, further escalating public concerns over purportedly prevalent abuses in the military.The death of the 19-year-old lance corporal, identified only by his surname Jeong, came after a marine committed suicide and
Abuse at barracks cause of escalating concern in Korea

Jul 10, 2011

Defense minister orders full-scale inspection of all military unitsAlthough his son will not join the military for another 10 years, Moon Young-sook is already apprehensive that his boy could suffer the “appalling” human rights abuses said to be widespread there.“I feel more worried than before as it is said that such abuses are still taking place in many units, not in just a few. When we heard of
U.S. nuclear-powered submarine makes port call in S. Korea

Jul 9, 2011

The U.S. nuclear-powered submarine USS Texas made a port call in South Korea on Saturday as part of a regular deployment to the Pacific area, the U.S. military in the South said. The Texas, based in Hawaii, arrived at South Korea's southeastern port city of Busan with more than 130 crew members, according to officials at the U.S. Forces Korea. The 7,800-ton Texas is a Virginia-class attack s
Defense chief orders inspection of military discipline after rampage

Jul 9, 2011

Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin has ordered military commanders to inspect the standards of discipline and irregularities, following a shooting rampage earlier this week by a marine that killed four colleagues on a front-line unit, a source said Saturday. Questions over discipline have been raised since the 19-year-old marine corporal, only identified by his surname Kim, opened fire on Monday at
Ganghwa Marine suicide revealed

Jul 8, 2011

A soldier had killed himself at the Marine Corps Second Division near Seoul just a day before Monday’s shooting rampage at his division, military officials said Friday, as investigations continued into the case that killed four soldiers. Authorities said they are investigating whether habitual bullying was rampant among marines at the division in Ganghwa, Gyeonggi Province, leading to the two trag
Defense budget focuses on combat training

Jul 7, 2011

The Ministry of National Defense has drawn up a 33.48 trillion won ($32.43 billion) budget plan for next year with a focus on making the military “truly combat-ready.”The ministry submitted its budget proposal to the Finance Ministry on June 30. The planned budget is 6.6 percent higher than the 2011 budget of 31.4 trillion won.“In broad terms, we can say that we have significantly increased the bu
Military to set up non-smoking units

Jul 5, 2011

The defense military has declared a war on smoking, unveiling a plan to lower its service members’ smoking rate by 3 percentage points this year.Some 47.2 percent of military personnel were smokers as of the end of last year, higher than the average of 39.6 percent for the country’s men, according to government data.“Under the smoking reduction goal, the defense ministry designated 100 non-smoking
Bullying could have led to shooting

Jul 5, 2011

Poor ammunitions management partly blamed for death of 4 marinesThe Marine who went on a shooting rampage Monday, killing four fellow soldiers, had been treated like an outcast on his base on Ganghwa Island, military officials said Tuesday.The 19-year-old corporal, identified only by his surname Kim, said in writing, “I feel a lot of pain. I want to die. The practices of beating and ostracizing a
4 killed in Marine shooting rampage

Jul 4, 2011

A shooting spree by a 19-year-old Marine corporal on Monday has left four soldiers dead, the Marine Corps said.The incident took place inside a barrack of the Marine Second Division on Ganghwa Island off the west coast at around 11:50 a.m., officials said. The corporal, identified only by his surname Kim, opened fire with a K-2 rifle. Kim was captured after the incident. A grenade also exploded at
Cheonghae repels vessels in piracy attempt

Jul 4, 2011

A South Korean antipiracy unit operating off the coast of Somalia on Sunday morning repelled three ships suspected of trying to seize a Panamanian-registered chemical freight vessel, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said Monday.The Cheonghae Unit received an emergency satellite call from the 17,000-ton Azalea belonging to South Korea’s major shipping firm STX POS at around 1 a.m., JCS officials said.The
Mass production of K-11 rifles to begin in October

Jul 4, 2011

South Korea will begin mass-producing the Korean-made K-11 airburst assault rifle in November after having addressed problems associated with its fire control, the state weapons acquisition agency said Monday.“We have addressed the issues that have been raised in the process of its mass production. We will produce just small amounts and test them to check whether they are suitable for field operat
Four killed, two injured in Marine shooting rampage

Jul 4, 2011

A Marine soldier is transported to a hospital in Gimpo, Gyeonggi Province, after a shooting spree at a barrack of the Marine Second Division on Ganghwa Island off the west coast, Monday. (Yonhap News)A shooting spree by a 19-year-old Marine corporal on Monday has left four soldiers dead, the Marine Corps said.The incident took place inside a barrack of the Marine Second Division on Ganghwa Island