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Experts call for efforts to ease Sino-US rivalry to foster regional peace

South Korean Defense Minister Song Young-moo delivers an opening speech of the Seoul Defense Dialogue 2018 at Seoul Westin Chosun Hotel on Thursday. YonhapExperts called for efforts to mitigate an intensifying geopolitical rivalry between the United States and China to help foster peace on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia during a security forum in Seoul on Thursday.On the second day of the Seoul Defense Dialogue hosted by South Korea's defense ministry, they voiced concerns over the potential ramifications of the strategic competition between the great powers over trade, maritime security and regional preeminence."The U.S.-China hegemonic competition and the increasing security dilemma within Northeast Asia are difficult challenges. ... With continuing mutual distrust, it is challenging to reach cooperation which presumes concessions between the two," Kim Joon-hyung, professor of international studies at Handong Global University, said."A fault line has been created along the Korean Peninsula, the East China Sea, the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea. Among these, the

Sep 13, 2018
Experts call for efforts to ease Sino-US rivalry to foster regional peace

End of military exemptions back on agenda after Asian Games criticism

A military parade during Armed Forces Day on Sept. 28 in 2017. Cheong Wa Dae Joint Press CorpsBy Jung Da-minThe Ministry of National Defense is moving a step closer to abolishing military exemptions and alternative service, according to an official, Monday.“To recruit troops without a setback due to a decrease in military service resources, we need gradually to reduce or eliminate alternative service,” Choson Ilbo quoted a government official as saying. “We will start discussions among the ministries after internal reviews.”The Ministry of National Defense first raised the prospect of phasing out the exemptions by 2022 in 2016, citing a “demographic cliff.” The ministry estimates that military resources will lack 20,000 to 30,000 people in 2023, around time when those born in 2002 will join the military.If the alternative service is abolished, the increase in active resources would be about 28,000 the same number as there was in alternative service personnel serving in various fields such as industry, professional research, embarkation, arts, sport

Sep 4, 2018
End of military exemptions back on agenda after Asian Games criticism

Cabinet approves proposal to shorten military service period

The Cabinet approved a proposal Tuesday to shorten the mandatory military service period for South Korean men by up to three months over the next couple of years.The proposal was part of the defense ministry's reform measures dubbed the Defense Reform 2.0 made public in May. Reducing the service period was one of President Moon Jae-in's campaign promises.Starting in October, the service period will be gradually reduced in the coming years to 18 months in the case of the Army from the current 21 months, to 20 months in the case of the Navy from the current 23 months and to 22 months in the case of the Air Force from the current 24 months.If the reduction is fully implemented, the number of South Korea's troops -- currently 625,000 -- will decrease to half a million. Opposition parties voiced concern it could weaken defense capabilities.The government can cut the service period by up to six months without revising the law. (Yonhap)

Sep 4, 2018
Cabinet approves proposal to shorten military service period

New military intelligence unit launched

Nam Young-sin, head of the Defense Security Support Command, salutes while participating in the launch ceremony of the new military intelligence unit at its headquarters in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, Saturday. / YonhapBy Lee Min-hyungThe defense ministry launched its new military intelligence unit Saturday, with its authority reduced and a ban on it from engaging in any political issues. Under an amended military ordinance, the Defense Security Support Command (DSSC) began operations Sept. 1, the Ministry of National Defense said. The DSSC replaces the former scandal-tainted Defense Security Command.The launch of the DSSC occurred about a month after President Moon Jae-in ordered Defense Minister Song Young-moo to disband the former security command and create a “wholly new” organization with limited authority.The decision was part of countermeasures after it was revealed that the unit planned to deploy armed forces last year to quell pro-democracy protestors who called for the ouster of former President Park Geun-hye.The military intelligence unit has in recent months

Sep 2, 2018
New military intelligence unit launched

South Korea's military launches new security command

South Korea created a new military security command Saturday that replaces a scandal-prone unit.The military held a launch ceremony for the Defense Security Support Command (DSSC) at its headquarters in Gwacheon, just south of Seoul. It was hosted by Defense Minister Song Young-moon.The command is tasked with collecting security-related intelligence and countering anti-state activities. Lt. Gen. Nam Young-sin, a former special forces commander, has been named its first leader.Its predecessor, the Defense Security Command (DSC) born in 1991, was disgracefully disbanded amid fierce public criticism about its past wrongdoings.The DSC is accused of having plotted the enforcement of a draconian martial law in late 2016, when many South Koreans were protesting against then-President Park Geun-hye.It was also found to have inspected civilians related to the 2014 ferry disaster and carried out secret online operations to back previous conservative governments.In a speech, Song said the DSC tainted the military's honor through such "illicit" acts without repenting.The people even felt a sense

Sep 1, 2018
South Korea's military launches new security command

Chinese military jet enters South Korea air defense zone

South Korea scrambled Air Force jets Wednesday to counter a Chinese military plane flying in the country's air defense domain without notice, defense authorities in Seoul said.It entered the Korea air defense identification zone (KADIZ) at around 7:37 a.m. and moved over southern and eastern waters for about four hours, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS)."(We) took normal tactical measures," such as sending a warning message and dispatching Air Force jets to track and monitor it, the JCS added.More than 10 aircraft, including F-15K fighter jets, were mobilized, a source said later.It marked the second flight of a Chinese aircraft, believed to be for military reconnaissance, in the KADIZ in a month.There were similar incidents in January, February and April as well.An air defense identification zone is airspace over land or water declared by a state for the early identification and location of foreign planes approaching its territory. It's not defined in any international law or treaty.The KADIZ near Ieo Island, a Seoul-controlled submerged rock south of Jeju Island, overlap

Aug 29, 2018
Chinese military jet enters South Korea air defense zone

South Korea rejects US demand in defense cost talks

By Lee Min-hyungSouth Korea and the United States are still at odds over their ongoing defense cost-sharing negotiations, clashing over who should pay for the deployment of U.S. strategic weapons here during their annual military exercises. According to diplomatic sources, Monday, Washington and Seoul failed to reach an agreement during the sixth round of defense cost-sharing talks which ended Thursday.The negotiations, which started in March, are aimed at deciding Seoul's share of the financial burden next year for maintaining the 28,500 U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) troops here.The U.S. position is that South Korea should increase its payment due to the costs of deploying U.S. strategic weapons during their regular drills. The South, however, claims that the defense cost-sharing is only about the maintenance costs for the USFK, and so the U.S.'s demand concerning the strategic weapons should not be discussed during the ongoing negotiations.“We seek understanding from the U.S. by continuously engaging in dialogue,” an official from the South's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said

Aug 27, 2018
South Korea rejects US demand in defense cost talks

KAI speeding up ethical management

A KAI T-50 Golden Eagle trainer jet stands in front of the firm's headquarters in Sacheon, South Gyeongsang Province, in this file photo. / Courtesy of KAIBy Lee Min-hyungTransparent management stands at the center of sustainable growth for any corporation.Ethical management is particularly crucial for large organizations, such as conglomerates and state-run companies, as the potential failure to carry out this puts a brake on growth of not just the company, but its shareholders and the local community.A growing number of companies here have, for this reason, jumped on the ethical management drive by realigning their business structures in a way to guarantee the removal of corruption.The Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) is also seeking to transform itself into a new organization represented by transparent management.The drive started gaining steam in October last year when new CEO Kim Jo-won took office. He put top priority on establishing a renewed corporate culture represented by ethical management.The KAI had a total of 11 divisions, but Kim cut the number to five after taking con

Aug 27, 2018
KAI speeding up ethical management

Conscientious objectors found not guilty of draft dodging

Jehovah's Witnesses refuse to join the Army because of their beliefs. YonhapBy Jung Hae-myoung An appeals court has found seven Jehovah's Witnesses innocent of draft dodging. Changwon District Court ruled on Thursday that an earlier court's decision on the conscientious objectors was incompatible with the Constitution.“The choice is inevitable,” the court said.The seven were accused of refusing to serve in 2017. One worshipper received 18 months' jail for violating the military service law. The Supreme Court will conduct a public hearing on Aug. 30 regarding the sentencing of conscientious objectors.

Aug 24, 2018
Conscientious objectors found not guilty of draft dodging

Military's new security command to debut Sept. 1

By Lee Min-hyungThe Ministry of National Defense said Wednesday the military will have a new security command on Sept. 1 after the scandal-tainted Defense Security Command (DCS) is disbanded.The ministry will send hundreds of DSC personnel, who were involved in a series of its recent political interference activities, back to their former branches no later than the end of this week, according to the ministry Wednesday.“We are going to have 200 to 300 DSC personnel returned to their former branches of the military,” a military official said.The officers are suspected of engaging in a series of political activities. They include the DSC's plot to overturn the nation by writing a 67-page-long military document.Ever since a joint military-civil investigation team was formed, a total of 28 ranking DSC officers ― including former DSC general So Gang-won ― have been sent back to their former branches.Other officers include those suspected of participating in the DSC's special taskforce to handle the aftermath of the 2014 Sewol ferry disaster which left more than 300 pe

Aug 22, 2018
Military's new security command to debut Sept. 1
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