South Korea's military on Saturday reported 1,546 additional COVID-19 cases, raising the total caseload among its service members to 116,201. The new cases included 1,004 from the Army, 223 from the Air Force, 156 from the Navy, 94 from the Marine Corps and 57 from units under the direct control of the defense ministry. There were also five cases each from the ministry and the Joint Chiefs of Staff, along with two cases from the South Korea-U.S.Combined Forces Command. Currently, 10,814 milit

South Korea's military on Friday reported 1,647 additional COVID-19 cases, raising the total caseload among its service members to 114,656. The new cases included 1,088 from the Army, 197 from the Air Force, 139 from the Marine Corps, 137 from the Navy, and 76 from units under the direct control of the defense ministry. There were also four cases each from the South Korea-US Combined Forces Command and the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and two from the ministry. Currently, 11,055 military personnel are

South Korea will begin a 110 billion won ($89.8 million) project next year to develop a laser device to safely remove unexploded ordnance by 2027, the state arms procurement agency said Thursday. The policy and planning subcommittee of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) approved the project and plans to conduct a feasibility study and coordinate budgetary issues with related agencies, its officials said. The project aims to develop a mobile laser device to safely detonate and

Pyongyang could theoretically use missiles to attack satellites in a conflict

S. Korea, US plan to begin joint military exercises next Monday

A US nuclear-powered aircraft carrier has entered the international waters of the East Sea, informed sources said Tuesday, in an apparent show of America's military might amid concerns over possible North Korean provocations. The USS Abraham Lincoln strike group is currently in waters east of South Korea's southeastern city of Ulsan -- the first such maneuvers in the waters since late 2017, when tensions remained high due to Pyongyang's saber-rattling. The carrier group is expected to be in the

South Korea and the United States kicked off preliminary military drills on Tuesday ahead of their major springtime combined training later this month, Seoul officials said. The allies began the four-day South Korea-led crisis management staff training (CMST) in the run-up to their command post training (CCPT) set to run from next Monday through April 28, according to the officials. Led by South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff, the CMST is designed to practice a set of procedures to respond to pos

Chair of NATO Military Committee’s visit to S.Korea marks only second time

South Korea's Defense Minister Suh Wook has reiterated Seoul's stance against the provision of any lethal arms to Ukraine during last week's phone talks with his Ukrainian counterpart, his office said Monday. Suh repeated the position in response to Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov's request for anti-aircraft weapons in their phone call on Friday. "Suh had explained that there are limits in providing lethal weapon systems to Ukraine, given our security situation and its potential

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol tapped retired three-star general Lee Jong-sup with expertise in the South Korea-US alliance and combined defense posture as the new defense minister. Lee served as a vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff before he retired from the army. The defense minister nominee also led a Combined Defense Transformation Group under the JCS, whose task is to prepare for the envisioned transfer of wartime operational control or OPCON and set out a road map on the South Kor

South Korea plans to launch its first homegrown spy satellite in 2023 atop a rocket from US commercial space firm SpaceX under a project to place five such satellites into orbit by 2025, Seoul officials said Sunday. The state-run Korea Aerospace Research Institute and Agency for Defense Development have signed contracts with the firm to use its SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket for the first 800-kilogram satellite launch in the US in 2023 and for the remainder by the target year, according to the officials

Hanwha Systems, a South Korean defense firm, has unveiled a radar prototype for the long-range surface-to-air missile (L-SAM) interception system under development, in a sign of progress in the country's missile defense technology. The company revealed to reporters the prototype of the multi-function radar (MFR) at its research center in Yongin, just south of Seoul, on Wednesday, amid Seoul's stepped-up push to counter North Korea's evolving missile threats. The radar is a core component of the

South Korea's defense ministry set in motion phased relocation work Friday to empty its main building in the central Seoul district of Yongsan for use as the country's new presidential office starting in May. President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol has decided to move the presidential office to the compound from Cheong Wa Dae in the northern part of the capital. "The relocation work for the fifth story (of the building) and higher got underway in earnest this morning," a ministry official said.

South Korea's defense ministry started full-fledged preparations Wednesday for its relocation to a nearby building and other facilities inside its compound in Seoul, as the Cabinet has approved budget spending for moving the country's presidential office. The ministry plans to sign a contract with a private relocation company as early as Thursday in line with President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol's plan to relocate the presidential office to the ministry building in Seoul's central district of Yongsan f

South Korea's Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Kim Jung-soo vowed Wednesday to "proactively" push for military innovation in the midst of what he called "intense strategic competition" among maritime powers in the Indo-Pacific region. Kim made the remarks during a security forum, stressing the need for the Navy to respond to not only North Korean threats, but also to "comprehensive" security challenges beyond the Korean Peninsula. "North Korea's nuclear and weapo