The Ministry of National Defense is not living up to its promise to better protect human rights, members of a civilian-led advisory panel said Monday. The 88-member panel – of which 15 have either left or decided to walk out – was put together by the Defense Ministry in late June, amid a public outcry following the death of an Air Force master sergeant who died by suicide after alleged sexual abuse. Her family claims cover-ups led to her death. “I had thought the ministry was

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Park In-ho has signed a deal with the chief of the US space operations and agreed to form a joint consultative body on space policy to strengthen cooperation, his office said Sunday. During his visit to the Air Force Space Command in Colorado, Park signed a memorandum of understanding with Gen. John Raymond on the formation of a joint space policy consultative body on Friday (US time), becoming official partners in space security cooperation. The Air Force plans t

At least 33 American service members stationed at Osan Air Base tested positive for the coronavirus, officials said Friday, after the base came under fire for a no-mask dance party in disregard of social distancing rules. The infections were reported on Thursday and Friday at the base, some 70 kilometers south of Seoul, and contact tracing is under way, according to South Korean government officials. A dance party took place at the base Saturday involving dozens of individuals not wearing face

A pilot error caused July's crash-landing of an Army medical chopper, and the same type of helicopters will be allowed to resume operations, the Army said Friday. In July, five people were injured after the ambulance helicopter, Medion, crash-landed at a military base in Pocheon, north of Seoul, on its way to pick up a patient. The Army immediately suspended the operations of the same type of aircraft and launched an investigation. "Our investigation found that the pilot misunderstood t

Three Army members and a Navy sailor tested positive for the new coronavirus, the defense ministry said Friday, the latest in a series of infections among service members across the nation. The two Army soldiers and the sailor were confirmed to have been infected after their recent vacation, and a civilian official for the Army tested positive following the infection of one of his family members, according to the ministry. The latest cases brought the total caseload among the military populati

Peace and freedom was the prize of the Korean War that South Korea earned, and it should be a reminder for all South Koreans that its vibrant democracy with a strong economy came at a cost, Colombian veterans of the 1950-53 Korean War said Thursday, during an interview with The Korea Herald in Seoul. Separated by the Pacific Ocean, Colombia is the only Latin American country to field ground troops and a warship to help South Korea fight back North Korea and China during the war, which sti

A North Korean propaganda outlet on Thursday slammed South Korea and the United States over their summertime joint military drill, calling it "a dangerous playing with fire" that heightens tensions on the Korean Peninsula. Uriminzokkiri made the criticism as the allies were set to conclude their nine-day combined military exercise Thursday, which has been held in a scaled-back manner due to the coronavirus situation and peace efforts involving North Korea. "The joint military dr

An Army boot camp reported three more cases of the coronavirus Thursday, bringing the total caseload in the latest cluster infection there to 18, the defense ministry said Thursday. The three recruits at the Korea Army Training Center in the central city of Nonsan, 213 kilometers south of Seoul, have been in isolation after their camp reported another cluster infection weeks earlier. Last month, the training center suffered a massive outbreak, which resulted in 123 confirmed cases. Separately

 South Korea and the United States on Thursday were set to conclude a major summertime combined exercise held in a scaled-back manner due to the coronavirus situation and peace efforts involving North Korea, officials said. The nine-day computer-simulated Combined Command Post Training began on Aug. 16, mobilizing the minimum level of troops without any outdoor drills, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). This year's summertime exercise kicked off amid strong protests from North

The Navy will hold training sessions with the UK’s HMS Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier and its escort ships in waters off the Korean Peninsula as the carrier strike group called off a port call in South Korea amid the raging coronavirus pandemic, the Ministry of National Defense said Wednesday. “Given the pandemic crisis, we will take part in naval exchanges involving humanitarian and disaster relief, from Monday to Wednesday next week,” the ministry said, noting there were i

Four service members have tested positive for the new coronavirus, raising the total infections reported among the military population to 1,592, the defense ministry said Wednesday. A newly enlisted soldier at the Korea Army Training Center in Nonsan, some 200 kilometers south of Seoul, was confirmed to have contracted COVID-19 while in isolation after a series of infections were reported there, according to the ministry. In the central city of Chungju, two airmen were found to have been infe

Eleven people affiliated with US Forces Korea (USFK), including six service members, have tested positive for the new coronavirus upon their arrival here, the US military said Tuesday. The infected individuals arrived at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, on commercial flights between Aug. 7-21, according to USFK. "All individuals have since been transferred to an isolation facility designated for confirmed COVID-19 cases at United States Army Garrison Humphreys or Osan Air Bas

Two Army soldiers and a cadet have tested positive for the new coronavirus, raising the total caseload reported among the military population to 1,588, the defense ministry said Tuesday. An officer in Paju, north of Seoul, was confirmed to have contracted COVID-19 after a vacation, while a solider based in the northwestern border town of Yeoncheon was found to have gotten infected during a vacation before discharge, according to the ministry. In the southeastern city of Yeongcheon, a cadet wa

A dance party was held at one of the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK)'s bases in South Korea last week where participants allegedly drank alcohol and danced without wearing masks while ignoring social distancing rules amid the pandemic, sources said Monday. The party took place at a club inside Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, some 70 kilometers south of Seoul, on Saturday, according to the sources. Images obtained by Yonhap News Agency show dozens of individuals dancing side by side without wearing face

United States Forces Korea said Sunday it has not been asked to house evacuees fleeing Afghanistan, where the Taliban swiftly took over the government after the US began withdrawing troops. The Wall Street Journal reported the previous day that the US was looking at American bases in Japan, Korea, Kosovo, Bahrain and Italy as the US expands efforts to fly thousands of Afghan evacuees, who feel threatened by the Taliban insurgents because of their association with US forces. “To date, USF