A US aircraft carrier is set to arrive in South Korea on Friday for its first combined drills with the South Korean Navy near the peninsula in five years, as the allies are striving to reinforce deterrence against evolving North Korean military threats. The nuclear-powered USS Ronald Reagan is slated to dock at ROK Fleet Command in Busan, amid worries about the possibility of the North staging a nuclear test or other provocations. ROK stands for South Korea's official name, Republic of Kore

South Korean and US Marine Corps have developed a five-year plan to strengthen combined amphibious landing exercises, a US military unit here said Wednesday, amid the allies' move to sharpen deterrence against evolving North Korean threats. The US Marine Corps Forces Korea (MARFOR-K) revealed the formulation of the allies' training program, as Seoul and Washington are stepping up security cooperation amid concerns about the possibility of Pyongyang conducting a nuclear test or other pr

South Korean soldiers conducted combined training with their American fellows at a key training center in California earlier this month, the U.S. military said Tuesday, amid the allies' stepped-up move to sharpen deterrence against North Korean threats. The Army soldiers completed the training program at the National Training Center as part of efforts to improve "warfighting" capabilities and "interoperability" among the allied forces, according to the Eight Army. The trainin

LONDON -- South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol on Monday awarded the Civil Merit Medal to a British veteran of the Korean War, thanking him for his sacrifice and dedication to the defense of peace. Yoon presented the medal to Victor Swift, who served as a corporal in the Corps of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers during the 1950-53 war, after attending the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II. Swift, 88, serves as head of the British Korean War Veterans Association and has worked to s

South Korea's Vice Defense Minister Shin Beom-chul has received a briefing on key US nuclear assets, including a strategic bomber and "low-yield" weapons mountable on it, during a visit to a military base in the United States, his ministry said Friday. His tour of Joint Base Andrews outside Washington, D.C., on Thursday (local time) followed North Korea's recent codification of an assertive nuclear policy that leaves open the possibility of a preemptive strike in case of a re

S. Korea, US discuss defense industrial and technological cooperation amid fierce competition over technological hegemony

US nuclear-powered supercarrier will stage military drills with South Korean warships for first time since 2017

Yoon government will abide by inter-Korean agreement except in case of unacceptable provocations, S. Korean vice defense minister says

An annual international security forum hosted by South Korea's defense ministry kicked off in Seoul on Tuesday for discussions on North Korea's denuclearization, cyberthreats, space security and other challenges. The three-day vice-ministerial Seoul Defense Dialogue (SDD) got under way at Lotte Hotel in central Seoul under the theme of "How to Address Complex Security Challenges: Fostering International Solidarity." The first fully in-person SDD session since 2019 brought tog

Vice defense ministerial meeting will be held in Seoul for first time in six years

Yoon Suk-yeol government accelerates procedures to fully operate existing THAAD battery

South Korea and the United States are set to wrap up a major combined military exercise Thursday, Seoul officials said, in a conclusion highlighting their pursuit of stronger deterrence against North Korea's nuclear and missile threats. The allies have carried out the Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise, which kicked off on Aug. 22, despite North Korean state media berating the annual drills as a rehearsal for war against the reclusive regime. The exercise involved more than a dozen field trainin

Controversial project to develop light aircraft carrier is left out in defense spending bill

The Defense Ministry promised more active communication with local residents regarding normalizing the THAAD anti-missile base in Seongju, North Gyeongsang Province, Tuesday. Col. Moon Hong-sik, deputy spokesperson of the Defense Ministry, said in a regular briefing, "We will sufficiently and actively communicate with local residents. Not only the Defense Ministry, but also the government should make effort to soothe the problem.” He stressed the importance of the Terminal High Altitu

The South Korean government announced a plan Tuesday for a 4.6 percent on-year increase in its defense budget for next year, with a focus on bolstering a key deterrence system to counter North Korea's nuclear and missile threats. The defense ministry has proposed a budget of 57.1 trillion won ($42.3 billion) for next year, up from this year's 54.6 trillion won. The government plans to submit it to the National Assembly on Friday for approval. Of the total, the ministry seeks to spend 1