South Korea - The Korea Times

Korea proposes to Japan mutual expert verification of data over radar spat

Defense Ministry spokeswoman Choi Hyun-soo speaks during a briefing Jan. 4 on the release of a video that refutes Japan's claims that a South Korean warship targeted a Japanese patrol plane with a fire control radar. YonhapSouth Korea has proposed to Japan a mutual expert verification of military radar data to address a highly charged dispute over its use of a ship-based radar for humanitarian search operations last month, a military official in Seoul said Wednesday.Seoul made the proposal during general-grade talks with Tokyo in Singapore on Monday. There, the two sides failed to narrow differences as Japan refused to give any specific answer to the request for "objective and fair" verification.The spat erupted following Tokyo's claim that South Korea's 3,200-ton Gwanggaeto the Great destroyer locked its fire-control tracking radar, called STIR-180, on Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force's P-1 patrol aircraft on Dec. 20.Seoul has rejected the charge, saying the warship was then on a mission to rescue a North Korean vessel drifting in the overlapping exclusive economic zones of South

Jan 16, 2019

Korea proposes to Japan mutual expert verification of data over radar spat

Two stealth jets to arrive in Korea by March

An F-35A Lightning II fighter flies over Lockheed Martin's assembly line in Fort Worth, Texas in this March 28, 2018. / Korea Times file By Park Ji-wonTwo F-35A stealth fighter aircraft will be delivered to South Korea from the U.S. by the end of March, a military source said Sunday. “Two F-35As out of 10, which the Air Force will receive this year, will arrive in South Korea by the end of March. They will be deployed by around April or May,” a source familiar with the matter said.The source said two aircraft will arrive every month and up to 10 stealth fighters will be handed over by the end of the year. The Air Force will possibly complete their deployment during the same time. By the end of 2018, the Air Force had taken over six F-35As for training at Arizona's Luke Air Force Base in the U.S.The F-35As are expected to play a key role in South Korea's pre-emptive strike system, previously referred to as Kill Chain and currently known as the strategic target strike

Jan 13, 2019By Park Ji-won

Two stealth jets to arrive in Korea by March

South Korea to acquire 2 stealth fighter jets from US in March:

South Korea will acquire two stealth fighters from the United States in late March. YonhapSouth Korea will acquire two stealth fighters from the United States in late March, allowing the country to fly the latest fifth-generation aircraft in the world, sources said Sunday.The two F-35A jets will arrive in Seoul, and they will likely be assigned to combat units that defend the country starting in April or May, several insiders familiar with the matter said.South Korea has agreed to purchase 40 F-35As in a 2014 contract. The jets are designed to evade detection and have the latest electronics suite that can allow them to be effective even in well defended airspace. A single plane is reportedly priced at around 120 billion won (US$107.5 million). Korea may buy 20 additional F-35s as the Air Force has requested more assets.Of the 40, the South Korean military will have 10 jets delivered before the end of this year, with the rest to be brought in by 2021 as planned, the sources said.Adding to the Air Force's existing fleet of F-15Ks and F-16s, the F-35As are expected to play a key role in

Jan 13, 2019

South Korea to acquire 2 stealth fighter jets from US in March:

Army launches new ground command

U.S. Forces Korea Commander General Robert Abrams, right, delivers a squad flag to Army General Kim Un-yong during an event to celebrate the launch of the Ground Operations Command at its headquarters in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, Wednesday. / YonhapBy Lee Min-hyungThe Army has launched a central operations command, with a view to enhancing combat and command efficiency of the ground forces, the Army said Wednesday.The Ground Operations Command (GOC), which combined what used to be the Army's First and Third ground commands, will take operational control of the land troops in case of contingency, according to the Army. The GOC will help streamline organizational structures of the Army, allowing the armed forces to remain more agile in handling military missions, it said.The Ministry of National Defense has pushed ahead with setting up the GOC since 1998, amid calls to deal with a decreasing number of soldiers and improve operational efficiency under a single control tower. The primary role of the GOC includes the handling of the commanding works of front-line troops here, the Army sa

Jan 9, 2019By Lee Min-hyung

South Korean, US defense chiefs vow stronger alliance to support diplomacy

South Korean National Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo attends an armed forces full honor arrival ceremony hosted by then-U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis last year. YonhapSouth Korean and the United States defense chiefs agreed Tuesday to maintain a robust alliance and combat readiness in supporting diplomacy for denuclearization and a peace regime, Seoul's defense ministry said.In their phone talks, Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo and acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan "reaffirmed that South Korea and the U.S. will maintain the alliance and combined defense posture unshakably in any change of conditions," according to the Ministry of National Defense.They noted that the allies had successfully cooperated to back up peace efforts and agreed to keep the "momentum" going forward, it added.The ministry said Jong and Shanahan spoke with "very friendly and amicable feeling."Shanahan has been leading the Pentagon since last week, after Jim Mattis left the post in December.Shanahan became deputy secretary of defense in July 2017, having worked at Boeing for three decades. (

Jan 8, 2019

South Korean, US defense chiefs vow stronger alliance to support diplomacy

Gov't to stop using the term 'conscientious objectors'

The government has officially jettisoned the term "conscientious objectors." Korea Times fileBy Jung Min-hoThe South Korean government will stop using the term “conscientious objectors” when referring to people who refuse to serve in the military and will replace the term with “religious objectors.”The Defense Ministry announced Friday that it would no longer use “conscientious objectors” for official documents, saying “religious objectors” would be more accurate.The move comes after tens of thousands of people found the term misleading and complained to the ministry.“We decided to replace the term to address the concerns that those who have served their duties can be misconstrued as not conscientious (because of its semantic implication),” said ministry spokeswoman Choi Hyun-soo.In its ruling on Nov. 1, the Supreme Court for the first time accepted “religious beliefs” as a justifiable reason to refuse compulsory military duty while overturning a lower-court ruling in which a Jehovah's Witness was sentenced to 18

Jan 7, 2019By Jung Min-ho

Gov't to stop using the term 'conscientious objectors'

Korea making videos to counter Japan's 'radar lock-on' claims

The image from the South Korean Navy shows a Japanese patrol plane, inside the yellow circle, making a low-altitude flight. / YonhapBy Park Ji-wonThe South Korean defense ministry plans to release videos in eight languages to counter Tokyo's claims in a deepening radar row between the countries, ministry officials said Sunday.The Ministry of National Defense is making videos in Japanese, Chinese, French, Germany, Russian, Portuguese, Spanish and Arabic to counter Tokyo's claims that a South Korean naval ship used its fire-control radar on a Japanese P-1 patrol plane. The ministry claims Japan's low-altitude flight threatened Seoul's humanitarian rescue mission.A ministry source said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was reviewing the videos due to the sensitivity of the issue and that the videos would be released on YouTube soon.The move is in response to Japan's unilateral release of video footage in Japanese and English on Dec. 28, claiming the Korean vessel used fire control radar on Japan's surveillance plane. Foreign ministers from both countries agreed to hold working-level meeti

Jan 6, 2019By Park Ji-won

Korea making videos to counter Japan's 'radar lock-on' claims

KAI's bid to export Surion chopper to Philippines apparently fails

Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI), South Korea's sole aircraft manufacturer, has apparently failed in its bid to export its Surion choppers to the Philippines, an official at Seoul's arms procurement agency said Saturday.Late last year, the Manila government informed the South Korean embassy in the Philippines that it had opted to purchase the U.S.-made UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter, the official said on condition of anonymity.The apparent failure came after a MUH-1 Marineon -- the Marine variant of the KUH-1 Surion helicopter -- crashed at a military airport in the southeastern city of Pohang in July, killing five of the six Marines aboard."We cannot make assumptions regarding the Philippines' decision-making, but various factors (including the chopper crash) appear to have influenced its final decision," the official told Yonhap News Agency.A KAI official said that his company has yet to be notified of Manila's decision."We have not been informed that anything has been finalized. ... Though Manila has said it has placed priority (on the U.S. chopper), it has yet to sign any contract (

Jan 5, 2019

VIDEO Seoul releases video to counter Tokyo radar claim

Ministry of National Defense spokeswoman Choi Hyun-soo speaks during a press conference at the ministry headquarters in Yongsan, Friday. YonhapBy Kim Yoo-chulThe South Korean defense ministry on Friday uploaded a video to YouTube in a step to refute Tokyo's claim that a South Korean naval ship locked its fire-control radar onto a Japanese P-1 patrol plane in international waters between the two countries.“The Ministry of National Defense released a YouTube video to counter Tokyo's claim that a South Korean naval ship locked its fire-control radar on a Japanese plane last month,” ministry spokeswoman Choi Hyun-soo told a press conference at the ministry headquarters in Yongsan.“The claim is simply groundless. The Japanese P-1 patrol plane had a low-altitude flight while the navy ship was conducting a rescue operation. Due to this situation, the rescue mission had been threatened.” Late Friday, Seoul's foreign ministry said Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha spoke with Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono.The two exchanged opinions over the escalating spat and agree

Jan 4, 2019By Kim Yoo-chul

Seoul releases video to counter Tokyo radar claim [VIDEO]

VIDEO Korea releases video to counter Japan's radar claim

Defense Ministry spokesperson Choi Hyun-soo speaks during a media briefing at the ministry building in Seoul, Friday. YonhapSouth Korea on Friday released its own video clip to repudiate Japan's claims over an escalating spat involving military radar and renewed calls for Tokyo to stop distorting facts and to apologize over the incident.Seoul's defense ministry posted the video clip on YouTube, a week after Tokyo released its own footage to back up the claim that a South Korean warship had locked fire-control radar on its maritime patrol aircraft on Dec. 20.In the clip, the ministry reiterated that its 3,200-ton Gwanggaeto the Great destroyer did not target Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force's P-1 plane, as the vessel was focused on a humanitarian mission to rescue a North Korean boat in distress in the international waters of the East Sea.The ministry also reiterated that the Japanese plane was flying at low altitude, which was "threatening" to the destroyer."The release of our video clip is designed to provide accurate facts, after distorted facts have been disseminated to In

Jan 4, 2019

Defense