A foundation established last year to honor the 46 sailors killed in North Korea’s torpedo attack on the corvette Cheonan is to begin several support programs this week for survivors of the disaster.The foundation, named “Cheonan-ham Foundation,” will offer 5 million won ($4,480) to each of the 58 survivors during a ceremony Friday in Seoul, officials said.The ceremony will also see the launch of

Blocking defects in weapons and military equipment is to be a key goal of South Korea’s military acquisition agency this year, the agency said on Thursday.This goal is apparently aimed at addressing public concerns over several military accidents due to flaws in military supplies and equipment in recent years.The Defense Acquisition Program Administration also said that it would seek this year to

K-21 armored vehicles will return to military use in April after defects that sank two of them in 2009 and last year were fixed, an official at the military acquisition agency said Thursday.After it sank during a river-crossing training session in July, killing one solider, the domestically-built K-21, which was touted as a high-tech amphibious infantry fighting vehicle, was found to have a series

General-level officers from the Army, Navy and Air Force are expected to equally share key decision-making posts at the Defense Ministry and the Joint Chiefs of Staff by the end of next year, a government source said Wednesday.The move is aimed at enhancing interoperability among the three armed services and addressing the Army’s dominance in the military’s decision-making processes, which has lon

A ruling party lawmaker is planning to submit to parliament three revision bills this week that would offer more independence to the Marine Corps, which was merged into the Navy in 1973.The move comes as the need for the Marines’ independence from the Navy has been voiced following North Korea’s artillery attack on Yeonpyeong Island in November that killed two marines and two civilians. Rep. Chung

Pyongyang’s overtures for dialogue with Seoul appear aimed at securing outside assistance to ease its economic travails and escape international isolation resulting from its belligerent behavior, experts here said on Sunday.Some also pointed out that the olive branch seems intended to show the U.S. that it is making due endeavors for the improvement of inter-Korean ties, a condition the U.S. has d