The Air Force on Friday set up a unit of investigators at its headquarters following accusations that cover-ups led to the suicide of a master sergeant who claimed to have been sexually assaulted. The unit will take away military police power to investigate crimes, as they have been accused of looking the other way when the master sergeant filed a complaint. The sergeant’s death sparked a public outcry that led the military to form an independent investigation arm. Military police will n

The United States is still assessing the type of the missile launched by North Korea this week but the US homeland would remain safe even if it turns out to be a hypersonic missile as claimed by the North, the commander of North American Aerospace Defense Command said Thursday. North Korea on Wednesday (Seoul time) said it fired a new hypersonic missile the previous day. "I understand the intelligence community's still making an assessment of the North Korean claim to have tested a hyperson

The Air Force opened a space center Thursday to bolster its defense capabilities and exchanges with foreign counterparts as the country seeks a greater presence in space. In May, South Korea and the US terminated missile guidelines that since 1979 had allowed Seoul to build missiles with a range of no more than 800 kilometers. The restrictions prevented Seoul from flying missiles far beyond the Korean Peninsula. “Space will be a key war-fighting domain and we will have our weapons ready

Ten Army soldiers and an Air Force officer have tested positive for the new coronavirus, raising the total caseload reported among the military population to 1,766, the defense ministry said Thursday. Six soldiers in the northeastern county of Yanggu were confirmed to have contracted COVID-19 while in quarantine after a vacation, while four officers -- based in the northern city of Yangju; Inje and Chuncheon, both east of Seoul; and the southwestern county of Damyang, respectively -- were found

The Air Force was to launch a space center under the direct control of its chief of staff Thursday as part of efforts to expand its presence in space and strengthen defense capabilities against emerging threats, the military said. A signboard hanging ceremony was to be held at the Air Force headquarters in the central city of Gyeryong, presided over by Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Park In-ho, according to the military. The new organization will be in charge of exchanges with other space unit

The South Korean Army will start testing a new combat system in 2024 to guide its entire operations as early as 2040. “The Army Tiger 4.0 is the future of warfare delivered by cutting-edge advances in technology,” the Army said. Tiger 4.0 is short for “Transformative Innovation of Ground forces Enhanced by the 4th industrial Revolution technology.” The Army said it will employ artificial intelligence-powered drones to facilitate decision-making on the battlefield, and

Three service members and a civilian worker for the Army tested positive for the new coronavirus, the defense ministry said Tuesday, the latest in a series of infections at barracks. One officer affiliated with the South Korea-United States Combined Forces Command in Seoul tested positive while in isolation after one of his family members was confirmed to have been infected, according to the ministry. Two Army officers, stationed in Seoul and the city of Goyang, respectively, also tested posi

South Korea was set Tuesday to launch a new 3,000-ton-class homegrown submarine capable of firing ballistic missiles, the third of its kind designed to boost underwater defense capabilities, the Navy said. A launch ceremony for the new submarine, named after a prominent Korean independence activist, Shin Chae-ho, will take place at the shipyard of Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. in the southeastern city of Ulsan later in the day, according to the military. It is the third and the final of three

South Korea and the United States were to begin two days of biannual defense talks in Seoul on Monday to discuss regional security situations and pending alliance issues, the defense ministry said. During the 20th Korea-US Integrated Defense Dialogue (KIDD), the two sides plan to discuss "major pending security issues," such as the assessment of the security situation on the Korean Peninsula and the policy coordination on North Korea, according to the ministry. The meeting comes two da

The recent missile tests President Moon Jae-in oversaw and praised marked a milestone that experts say shows a rapidly growing South Korean missile capability. Here are key takeaways on what it means for North Korea and foreign powers. Fending off North Korea South Korea is the first non-nuclear state to have tested a submarine-launched ballistic missile. SLBMs -- which have also been developed by China, France, India, Russia, the UK and the US -- are designed to deliver a fatal second strik

Six Army soldiers and three Marines have tested positive for the new coronavirus, raising the total caseload reported among the military population to 1,723, the defense ministry said Friday. The three Marines in Gimpo, west of Seoul, were confirmed to have contracted COVID-19 after an infection was reported at their base, according to the ministry. Among the Army soldiers, five -- one from the eastern county of Inje, two from the western city of Incheon and one each from Paju, north of Seoul,

Veterans Affairs Minister Hwang Ki-chul left for Britain on Friday for events to mark the 70th anniversary of a Korean War battle and remember the sacrifices made by the British soldiers during the conflict, his office said. The trip was arranged on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the Battle of the Imjin River on April 22-25, 1951, during which the 29th British Infantry Brigade headed off the invasion of three Chinese infantry divisions into Seoul. During the five-day visit, Hwang will

The US military in South Korea conducted a surgical strike drill simulating targeted attacks on major North Korean facilities, officials said Friday, amid tensions on the Korean Peninsula over the North's missiles launches. The Exercise Teak Knife was conducted at Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, 70 kilometers south of Seoul, on Sept. 13, which provided opportunities for US special tactics airmen "to practice skillsets used in special operations across the Indo-Pacific," the US Special O

The defense ministry on Thursday declined comment on North Korea's branding of South Korea's new submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) as a "clumsy product," only saying that the country has been steadily strengthening defense capabilities. On Monday, Jang Chang-ha, the chief of the North's Academy of National Defense, said in a statement South Korea's newly unveiled SLBM looked like a "poor weapon without all its shape," questioning its underwater capabilities. Asked f

The Air Force has formed a space committee jointly with civilian experts to chart a path for South Korea to expand its presence in space and strengthen defense capabilities against emerging threats, officials said Thursday. An inauguration ceremony for the 43-member "Air Force Space Power Development Committee" was set to be held at the Air Force headquarters in the central city of Gyeryong, officials said. Co-headed by Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Park In-ho and the Korea Aerospace R