N. Korea’s mounting threats increase necessity of preemptive plan　

South Korea's artificial intelligence (AI) defense technologies for speech, image and voice recognition are assessed to be about a year behind those of the United States, a state research institute said Wednesday. The Korea Research Institute for Defense Technology Planning and Advancement (KRIT) made the assessment as it unveiled a broad road map for the use of AI technologies in the defense sector. South Korea's AI-based defense technologies for the three high-tech areas have reached about 9

North Korea fired two suspected cruise missiles from an inland area Tuesday morning, its fifth weapons test this year. “North Korea is presumed to launch two cruise missiles this morning,” a South Korean military official told reporters on condition of anonymity. “The missiles are estimated to have traveled mostly inland although further analysis is needed,” the military official said, adding the missiles were not fired toward the East Sea. 　 The military official sa

South Korea's military on Friday reported 66 additional COVID-19 cases, including 53 breakthrough infections, raising the total caseload among its personnel to 3,828. Of the new cases, 57 are from the Army, five from the Air Force, one from the Navy and three from units under the direct control of the defense ministry. The Army infection count included 17 service members and trainees at a boot camp in Nonsan, 213 kilometers south of Seoul, according to an informed source. Currently, 345 mili

South Korea's military is set to ship COVID-19 treatment pills to three overseas units Friday following virus outbreaks there, officials here said. Pfizer's Paxlovid antiviral pills will be sent by air to the contingents in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), South Sudan and Lebanon under Thursday's distribution approval by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), the officials said. The military also plans to send the pills to the Navy's anti-piracy Cheonghae unit operating in wate

An elite South Korean Navy unit began annual wintertime training Thursday to strengthen its readiness posture for underwater rescue operations, the Navy said. Around 90 members of the Sea Salvage and Rescue Unit (SSU) kicked off the three-day training session in waters off Jinhae, 410 kilometers south of Seoul, focusing on underwater search and related operations. The training session included rubber boat pedaling, open-water swimming, and scuba diving. The members will also participate in a

South Korea's military on Thursday reported 35 additional COVID-19 cases, with all of them being breakthrough infections, raising the total caseload among its personnel to 3,762. Of the new cases, 27 are from the Army, five from the Air Force, two from the Navy and one from a unit under the direct control of the defense ministry. Currently, 299 military personnel are under treatment. Of the total military caseload, 1,937 are breakthrough cases. (Yonhap)

South Korea's Defense Minister Suh Wook called on all armed services Wednesday to unify their "will and efforts" to ensure this year's planned assessment required for the envisioned transfer of wartime operational control (OPCON) will proceed successfully. Suh made the remarks during a meeting of top commanders to evaluate South Korea's efforts to retake OPCON from the United States, as the allies are set to stage the full operational capability (FOC) assessment later this year. Duri

South Korea's military on Tuesday reported 24 additional COVID-19 cases, including 23 breakthrough infections, raising the total caseload among its personnel to 3,657. Of the new cases, 19 are from the Army, three from the Air Force and two from the Marine Corps. Currently, 237 military personnel are under treatment. Of the total military caseload, 1,833 are breakthrough cases. (Yonhap)

South Korea's Air Force said Monday it will resume the operation of its combat aircraft suspended after a pilot died earlier this month following the sudden crash of an F-5E fighter. The armed service said the operation of its warplanes, except for F-5Es and F-35As, will resume in phases, starting at noon. Since the fatal crash last week, the Air Force has run only essential assets, such as reconnaissance planes. The F-5E crashed into a mountain in Hwaseong, some 40 kilometers south of Seoul,

A former US Forces Korea (USFK) chief said Friday that North Korea's recent self-proclaimed hypersonic missile launches, if true, can be a reason for South Korea and the United States to be "very concerned," citing the absence of "sure means" to counter them. Curtis Scaparrotti, who led the USFK from 2013-2016, made the remarks after Pyongyang claimed to have successfully test-fired hypersonic missiles on Jan. 5 and Tuesday. South Korea's military has assessed that the Nort

The government and the ruling Democratic Party of Korea agreed Friday to lift the restricted military zone designation for some areas near the inter-Korean border to secure more land for civilian use and development.  The Defense Ministry and the ruling party held a consultative meeting and decided to release restrictions on about 2.74 million “pyeong” of land, equal to about 9 square kilometers, near the inter-Korean border controlled by the military.  The move will allo

South Korea and the US are considering putting off their annual springtime combined military exercises from March to April, due to the March 9 presidential election and the COVID-19 situation, according to local news reports Thursday. 　 Yonhap News Agency, citing unnamed sources, said the allies have been discussing a possible delay due to the election season and spread of the coronavirus. 　 The Ministry of National Defense, in responding to the report, said the two sides are still in talks o

South Korea and the United States are considering postponing their combined springtime military exercise, usually held in March, to April due to the March 9 presidential election and the COVID-19 pandemic, multiple sources said Thursday. The allies have been discussing the possible delay in consideration of the virus' unabated spread and the need to ensure South Korean troops can exercise their voting rights in the election unhindered by the round-the-clock command post training, the sources sa

Tours to the inter-Korean truce village of Panmunjom will be suspended starting next week due to spikes in COVID-19 infections, the UN Command (UNC) said Wednesday. The UNC will discontinue the tour program to the Joint Security Area in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas, effective Tuesday, less than two months after it resumed the tours in line with the country's "living with COVID-19" scheme. "UNC coordinated this suspension closely with the Ministry of Uni