Senior defense officials of South Korea and the US will hold a two-day dialogue on Korean Peninsula issues as the Biden administration seeks to engage North Korea with a new policy it recently revealed after a monthslong review. The biannual talks, which began Wednesday US time in Washington, are expected to address ways the two allies can coordinate their approach to Pyongyang. Biden’s policy on North Korea, which many see as striking a middle ground between Trump’s “grand b

Four Marines and three Army soldiers have tested positive for the new coronavirus, the defense ministry said Wednesday. The Marines, based in the southeastern city of Pohang, were confirmed to have contracted COVID-19 upon returning from vacation while under a cohort isolation, according to the ministry. The other three soldiers, each based in Seoul, the northeastern county of Inje and the southeastern city of Ulsan, were found to be infected after coming into contact with virus patients. The

South Korea and the United States were to hold biannual defense talks in Washington on Wednesday to discuss regional security situations and major bilateral issues, such as the transition of the wartime operational control (OPCON), the defense ministry said. During the 19th Korea-US Integrated Defense Dialogue (KIDD) set to run through Thursday, the two sides will discuss "major pending security issues, such as the assessment of the security situation on the Korean Peninsula and the policy

The military is expected to wrap up giving the first jabs of coronavirus vaccines to service members aged 30 and older this week, the defense ministry said Tuesday. As of Monday, 93 percent of about 114,000 service members, who are eligible for the first round of vaccination and agreed to take it, have had their first jabs of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine since the campaign began late last month, according to the ministry. "The vaccine administration will be completed this week,"

A state-run defense development agency said Tuesday it has developed a new technology for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to autonomously steer clear of threats and dangers. The technology allows UAVs to automatically seek flight paths to avoid threats at close distances and decide the sequence to complete their tasks, according to the Agency for Defense Development. The agency said it will continue research to upgrade the technology to meet high-level capabilities required in actual battlefie

South Korea’s military is looking to revamp living conditions for conscripts as soldiers of Generation Z – those born between mid-1990s to early 2010s – have hit out at the military over subpar living environments amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Two weeks ago, Korea’s National Human Rights Commission said it will launch an investigation into allegations that the military violated rights of conscripts in quarantine. The soldiers posted on Facebook that they had been fed poorl

The defense ministry said Monday it will look into 21 officials over suspected real estate speculation amid public fury in the wake of massive speculation cases involving employees of the state land developing firm. The ministry has been looking into thousands of employees since late March after some of its officials were suspected of exploiting undisclosed information related to the relocation or development plans of military bases for their personal real estate transactions. After looking i

South Korea is seeking to develop an advanced robot to conduct surveillance missions in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) and other risky regions, the arms procurement agency said Monday. The Defense Acquisition Administration (DAPA) began receiving applications from companies and research institutes for advanced technologies and ideas to build a small surveillance robot, agency officials said. The new platform will be designed to be capable of conducting surveillance missions in areas where troops

Two more Army soldiers have tested positive for the new coronavirus, raising the total caseload reported among the military population to 837, the defense ministry said Monday. A soldier based in the central city of Sejong was confirmed to have contracted COVID-19 after virus cases were reported at his unit, while another soldier in Dongducheon, north of Seoul, was found to be infected after coming into contact with a civilian patient while away from his base, according to the ministry. As of

Debris from a Chinese space rocket fell into the Indian Ocean on Sunday, the science ministry said. Remnants of the Long March 5B rocket landed in waters southeast of India around 11:30 a.m., the ministry said, citing data from the US-based Combined Space Operations Center. The rocket was launched last week carrying a module of China's first permanent space station into orbit. But a large piece of debris plunged back in an uncontrolled reentry. (Yonhap)

The military will try to raise the average daily meal cost for service members to 10,500 won ($9) next year, the defense ministry said Friday, after coming under criticism that soldiers are poorly fed. Defense Minister Suh Wook discussed the raise and other measures during a meeting with military commanders, according to the ministry. The current cost per meal for troops is 2,930 won, lower than the average for high school students at 3,625 won, it said. The military came under fire after a s

Five Navy sailors tested positive for the new coronavirus while on the same naval ship, bringing the total caseload from the vessel to 38, the defense ministry said Friday. Last month, the Navy reported 33 COVID-19 cases among members of the Gojunbong landing ship in the first mass infection on a military vessel. Of 84 sailors aboard the ship, 51 tested negative and have been in isolation, but five of them were found to have contracted the virus in a test required to exit quarantine, the min

South Korea and the United States on Friday discussed ways to jointly respond to remnants of a Chinese rocket expected to crash into Earth this weekend, the Air Force said. The Long March 5B rocket was launched last week carrying a module of China's first permanent space station into orbit. But a large piece of debris is expected to plunge back in an uncontrolled reentry on around Saturday (US time), according to the US Space Command. To explore ways to jointly deal with the case, South Korea'

Six Army members and four Air Force officers tested positive for the new coronavirus, the defense ministry said Thursday, the latest in a series of infections across the nation. Three of the four airmen were confirmed to have been infected after coming into contact with their colleagues who earlier tested positive, according to the ministry. The remaining Air Force officer, an Army officer, and four soldiers contracted the virus following their recent vacation, the ministry said, adding that

US Forces Korea (USFK) has eased its quarantine rules for fully vaccinated, newly arrived members, allowing them access to duty location and other on-post activities during their 14-day mandatory quarantine period upon arrival, the US military said. All USFK-affiliated individuals arriving here are required to undergo a COVID-19 test and quarantine for 14 days. Medical personnel administer a second test prior to their release. Under the revised quarantine policy that took effect Wednesday, th