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CEO & Publisher: Oh Young-jinDigital News Email: webmaster@koreatimes.co.krTel: 02-724-2114Online newspaper registration No: 서울,아52844Date of registration: 2020.02.05Masthead: The Korea TimesCopyright © koreatimes.co.kr. All rights reserved.

Military urged to get tougher on sex offenders

By Kim Se-jeong Korea’s human rights body is calling on the Ministry of National Defense to take harsher punishment against servicemen and servicewomen who sexually assault their junior colleagues. The announcement came Thursday as the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) was wrapping up its six-month investigation into sexual violence in the military after one female navy officer committed suicide in May after a superior officer assaulted her twice.“In many cases, we found perpetrators were in a position to evaluate the victims concerning their careers,” the NHRC report said. “To root out sexual violence, these people should face serious punishment.” Sexual violence in the male-dominant military is believed to be rampant but only intermittently reported to the outside world. The suicide case in May came as a big blow to the military which has successfully kept similar incidents within the military community. In 2015, the defense ministry acted by outlining policy plans to curb sexual violence, but the NHRC’s report on Friday made many wonder wh

Dec 21, 2017

Seoul seeks to buy more next-generation fighters

By Jun Ji-hyeSouth Korea has embarked on a project to buy the nation’s next-generation fighters (F-X), the state-run Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) said Thursday. It is widely seen as a move to buy 20 more Lockheed Martin F-35 stealth fighters in addition to 40 jets that Seoul agreed to buy in 2014. On Nov. 7, U.S. President Donald Trump said, after his summit with President Moon Jae-in in Seoul, that South Korea will be ordering “billions of dollars” of U.S. weapons. The DAPA said the agency is currently working to select a company that will carry out the preliminary research on the F-X project. Such research is the primary stage of the weapon system acquisition project and will determine how the project will proceed.“The preliminary research is expected to begin in February and run for about six months,” a DAPA official said, asking not to be named.He noted that it would take about three years for the agency to finally choose the type of aircraft, adding, “It is premature to say which aircraft will be imported.”Howev

Dec 21, 2017

South Korean guards fire at North Koreans chasing defecting soldier

By Bahk Eun-jiA group of North Korean soldiers retreated after South Korean guards fired warning shots in the central-western part of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), the four-kilometer-wide inter-Korean border, Thursday morning.The North Korean soldiers were likely searching for a soldier who defected to the South at 8:04 a.m. The South Korean guards fired 20 rounds from their K-3 machine guns at the soldiers.It is not clear whether the North Koreans fired back but no casualties were reported.The ROK Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said a northern soldier defected and was in custody.The incident came a month after a North Korean soldier’s dramatic defection at the truce village of Panmunjeom. North Korean guards shot the soldier several times as he escaped. He has since recovered.Meanwhile, the Unification Ministry said two North Koreans defected by fishing boat to the South on Wednesday.A P-3C naval patrol aircraft found the boat 100 kilometers northeast of the Dokdo islets at 11:30 a.m. The coast guard rescued them at 3:04 p.m.Fifteen North Koreans have defected to South Korea this

Dec 21, 2017
South Korean guards fire at North Koreans chasing defecting soldier
  • North Korean soldier crosses border to defect to South

KF-16 pilot named this year's Top Gun

Republic of Korea Air Force 38th Fighter Group pilot Major Kim Sang-won poses in front of a KF-16 fighter at the group's base in Gunsan, North Jeolla Province, Dec. 14. / YonhapBy Jhoo Dong-chanRepublic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF) 38th Fighter Group pilot Major Kim Sang-won was named as the 2017 Top Gun, the annual award for the Air Force’s top ace. According to the ROKAF, it held an award event last week for this year’s air combat contest at the Air Force Club in Seoul.During the contest, the KF-16 fighter jet pilot proved his mettle by hitting a 4-meter radius ground target from a 6-kilometer altitude and swiftly slipping through the red zone. Kim received 995 points out of 1,000 during the contest to claim the much-envied honor. Entering the Air Force Academy in 1999, Kim received a commissioned education from the U.S. Air Force Academy for four years after completing a one-year course in Korea. He was also nominated as one of the top 10 percent academy graduates in the United States.Kim also topped the ROKAF pilot education course after being commissioned, and finally

Dec 20, 2017
KF-16 pilot named this year's Top Gun

South Korea will have more female troops

By Kim RahnWomen may take up around 10 percent of all military personnel by 2022 as part of the government’s defense reform measures, the Ministry of National Defense said Wednesday.According to the reform drive, the ministry plans to select 2,450 female commissioned and noncommissioned officers a year by 2022, almost double the current number of 1,100, by gradually increasing the number annually. “The ratio of female troops in South Korea is very low compared to many other advanced nations,” a ministry official said.Along with the increased number, the ministry will lift restrictions on female troops’ assignments: the current rules prevent women from being assigned to general outposts and taking command posts at battalions or squadrons of coast and riverside defenses.“We will map out new criteria on commanders, which will be applied to both men and women in the military,” the official said.The ministry will also make efforts to create a “family-friendly” environment to prevent female officers from quitting the service due to childbirth

Dec 20, 2017

Ex-veterans affairs minister faces investigation

By Jun Ji-hyeThe Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs said Tuesday that it formally requested the prosecution to investigate former Minister Park Sung-choon over alleged illegal or inappropriate activities committed under his leadership.Park Sung-choonThe decision came after the ministry carried out an internal audit into the several controversial programs conducted while Park was in office, including the ministry’s security education that was criticized for being far-right. Park is also suspected of having ignored the corruption at veterans’ groups subject to the ministry’s oversight. “We asked the persecution to investigate Park for his apparent negligence of duty,” the ministry said in a release. “Regrettably, it has been revealed that Park overlooked various unlawful activities conducted under his leadership even though he was aware of them. He downsized various suspicions or did not take any measures,” it said. Separately, several ministry officials will be disciplined for their involvement in the controversial projects, the ministr

Dec 19, 2017
Ex-veterans affairs minister faces investigation

'China conducted large-scale drill in preparation for sudden change in NK'

By Jun Ji-hyeChina has conducted a large-scale drill, designed to train troops to occupy North Korea’s nuclear facilities, in preparation for sudden changes in the North such as a conflict or regime collapse, according to media reports, Monday. According to the Hankook Ilbo, the sister paper of The Korea Times, 100,000 Chinese troops participated in the drill of a simulated occupation of a building that is the same size and shape as the North’s Yongbyon nuclear complex.The newspaper said intelligence officials of South Korea and the United States learned of such an exercise through pictures taken by reconnaissance satellites. “It was unprecedented that the scene of Chinese troops carrying out a large-scale drill to occupy the Yongbyon nuclear complex was captured,” an unidentified military official was quoted as saying. The newspaper added that intelligence authorities of Seoul and Washington held a meeting in Seoul at the end of last year in response to such a drill and prepared countermeasures. During this meeting, the allies agreed that the United States an

Dec 18, 2017

5 Chinese warplanes enter Korea's air defense zone

By Jun Ji-hyeFive Chinese military aircraft including two bombers entered the Korean Air Defense Identification Zone (KADIZ) without prior notification Monday, causing South Korea to dispatch its fighter jets. The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said the Air Force’s Master Control and Reporting Center detected two H-6 bombers, two J-11 fighter jets and one TU-154 reconnaissance plane entered the KADIZ from southwest of Ieodo at 10:10 a.m. The flight into the KADIZ came just two days after President Moon Jae-in returned home from his four-day state visit to China during which time he met with Chinese President Xi Jinping and other leaders to discuss issues related to the deployment of the U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system and other challenges. The JCS said Seoul countered by sending fighter jets including F-15Ks to the area, noting that the Chinese aircraft also flew into the Japanese Air Defense Identification Zone (JADIZ).The aircraft then left the KADIZ and flew back toward China, the JCS added.“South Korea’s fighter jets that scrambled to the area

Dec 18, 2017

Stinger missiles fired in drill

An AH-64E Apache Guardian attack helicopter launches a Stinger air-to-air guided missile during a live-fire exercise at a firing range in Boryeong, South Chungcheong Province, Wednesday. / Courtesy of the ArmyBy Jun Ji-hyeThe Army successfully launched two Stinger air-to-air guided missiles from its AH-64E Apache Guardian attack helicopters in an exercise, Wednesday.Four Apache choppers belonging to the Army’s Aviation Operations Command took part in the drill held on a firing range at Boryeong, South Chungcheong Province. Stinger missiles are capable of striking airborne drones or enemy aircraft.It marked the first time for the Army to have carried out a live-fire exercise with missiles from attack helicopters.“This live-fire exercise was meaningful in that the Army has finally verified its ability of operating air-to-air missiles, completing the Army’s aviation combat capability,” the Army said in a release. The Army introduced the AH-64E Apache attack helicopters in May of last year and created Apache battalions later that year in September and December. Si

Dec 13, 2017
Stinger missiles fired in drill

South Korea, US, Japan start missile-tracking drill

The U.S., South Korea and Japan started joint exercises Monday to track missiles from North Korea, Seoul's military said, following the nuclear-armed Pyongyang's longest-range test launch to date.The trilateral drill comes less than two weeks after Pyongyang test-fired a new intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) and declared it had achieved nuclear statehood, escalating global alarm over its weapons push.The two-day exercise -- the sixth since June last year -- kicked off in waters near the Korean peninsula and Japan, Seoul's defence ministry said."During the drill, Aegis warships from each country will simulate detecting and tracking down potential ballistic missiles from the North and sharing information," it said in a statement.Two U.S. ships are taking part, with one each from the two Asian countries. Both South Korea and Japan have security alliances with the US, although their own relationship is marred by disputes over history and territory.Washington and Seoul staged their biggest-ever joint air drill last week in a show of force against Pyongyang, which is subject to mul

Dec 11, 2017
South Korea, US, Japan start missile-tracking drill
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