South Korea - The Korea Times

'Cyber Command attempted to influence 2012 election'

By Jun Ji-hyeThe military’s cyber warfare command engaged in suspicious online activities ahead of the general election in 2012 in an apparent bid to influence voters, a fact-finding team under the Ministry of National Defense said Thursday.Announcing the interim results of its investigation, the team said the Cyber Command under the Lee Myung-bak government created “operational guidance for psychological warfare” in cyberspace “to respond to election meddling by North Korean sympathizers in the general election.” The election took place April 11.The command is facing allegations that it conducted online smear campaigns against liberals during the general and presidential elections under the conservative Lee and Park Geun-hye governments.The operational guidance called for mobilizing the personnel of the command specializing in psychological warfare to conduct such an operation from March 12 to April 11 in 2012. The then-Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin approved the guidance on March 9 of that year, the team said. “We are continuing our investigation

Nov 30, 2017

Military launches missiles in response to North Korea

A Hyunmoo-2 ballistic missile is launched off during a live-fire drill in the East Sea, early Wednesday, held in response to an alleged ICBM test by North Korea. / YonhapBy Choi Ha-youngThe military staged a live-fire drill early Wednesday only six minutes after North Korea fired what it claimed was an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said.The South Korean Army’s missile unit, the Navy’s Aegis ship and the Air Force’s KF-16 fighter jet took part in the training held in the East Sea near the inter-Korean border, from 3:23 a.m. to 3:44 a.m. The joint drill simulated the targeting of a North Korean missile base ― this time Pyongsong, around 30 kilometers north of Pyongyang. The drill mobilized the nation’s ship-to-ground Haeseong-2 cruise missile as well as a Hyunmoo-2 ballistic missile and SPICE-2000 air-to-surface missile. The three missiles precisely hit the target, the JCS said in a press release. According to the JCS, the Haeseong-2, a Korean-produced missile, can travel 1,000 kilometers. Hyunmoo-2, a core asset

Nov 29, 2017

N. Korea's new ICBM can hit any target in US

US forces to stay after OPCON transfer

By Kim RahnU.S. forces will stay in South Korea and the South Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command (CFC) will not be disbanded even after Seoul takes over wartime operational control (OPCON) from Washington, the defense minister said Tuesday.The comment comes while the two countries are speeding up negotiations for the takeover of OPCON for South Korean troops.“When the transfer issue emerged in 2006, there were concerns that the CFC would be disbanded and U.S. forces would leave the country,” Defense Minister Song Young-moo said in a lecture organized by the Korea Institute for Maritime Strategy in Seoul.“But we are seeking to ensure U.S. forces will not be withdrawn and the CFC will not be disbanded even after OPCON is transferred.”Song’s remarks were slightly at odds with the ongoing talks between the two countries to create a new “future combined command” to replace the current CFC when Seoul regains OPCON.Regarding this, a ministry official said, “Song means the current CFC system has many advantages, which could remain under the new

Nov 28, 2017

'The shorter skirts are the better,' says defense chief in pep talk

South Korea's Defense Minister Song Young-moo speaks in a mess hall before a lunch with soldiers at the Joint Security Area in the Panmunjeom truce village, Nov. 27. Arriving at the hall late, he promised the soldiers that his speech before the lunch will be short, saying, "the shorter skirts are the better." / YonhapBy Ko Dong-hwanOf all the remarks to boost the morale of South Korean soldiers protecting the inter-Korean border, he picks the wrong one.Making a sexual remark may boost male soldiers’ morale, but Defense Minister Song Young-moo chose the wrong place at the wrong time when he visited the Joint Security Area (JSA) Monday. Two weeks after a North Korean soldier was shot five times when he dramatically escaped to the South through the JSA in the Panmunjeom truce village, Song visited the scene.Besides checking out the scene, he met and encouraged South Korean soldiers for managing the incident well.Song met the soldiers at a lunch in a mess hall, where he arrived late. Being apologetic, he cut short his talk so the soldiers would not have to wait long before eating.

Nov 28, 2017

'The shorter skirts are the better,' says defense chief in pep talk

Defense minister visits JSA, defends troops

North Korean soldiers monitor the south side of the Joint Security Area (JSA) during South Korean Defense Minister Song Young-moo’s visit to the area, Monday, for a briefing on the details of a North Korean soldier’s recent defection to the South. / Joint press corpsBy Joint press corps, Jun Ji-hyeSouth Korean and U.S. troops stationed at the Joint Security Area (JSA) in the truce village of Panmunjeom took appropriate measures when responding to a North Korean soldier’s defection and gunfire from the North earlier this month, Defense Minister Song Young-moo said Monday.Song made the remarks during his visit to the JSA, where he was briefed by U.S. Army Col. Steve Lee, secretary of the United Nations Command (UNC) Military Armistice Commission, on the details of the UNC’s special investigation into the incident.The minister also viewed the defector’s route across the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) in person during the visit, according to the Ministry of National Defense. “During such a tense and dangerous situation, the respective leaders of the R

Nov 27, 2017

Defense minister visits JSA, defends troops

North Korean defector's dramatic escape latest chapter in 72-Hour Bridge's history

A North Korean soldier drives a military jeep across the 72-Hour Bridge that connects to the Join Security Area (JSA) in this surveillance camera footage released by the United Nations Command, Wednesday. / YonhapBy Bahk Eun-jiNorth Korea’s landmark 72-Hour Bridge played a pivotal role in a North Korean soldier’s daring escape to the South through the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) last week.The United Nations Command this week released footage of the dramatic Nov. 13 defection. It shows the soldier driving a military Jeep across the 72-Hour Bridge that connects to the Joint Security Area (JSA), where North and South Korean soldiers face each other. The bridge, on the Sacheon River, has a history of division of the North and South. North Korea built it after the “axe murder” incident in August 1976, in which North Korean soldiers killed two U.S. Army officers with an axe in the JSA. The bridge got its name from the fact North Korea built it in 72 hours. Before the axe murder incident, the Bridge of No Return crossed the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) between the No

Nov 23, 2017

North Korean defector's dramatic escape latest chapter in 72-Hour Bridge's history

North Korean soldier regains consciousness

By Jun Ji-hyeThe North Korean soldier who has been in a critical condition after suffering gunshot wounds while fleeing to South Korea through the Joint Security Area (JSA) last week has regained consciousness, according to sources, Tuesday.The solider underwent surgery twice at Ajou University Hospital in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province.Sources said the soldier has opened his eyes and begun breathing without a respirator. The soldier has also begun to speak, according to local daily DongA Ilbo.  “Am I really in South Korea? I want to listen to South Korean songs,” he was quoted as saying.The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said earlier around 40 gunshots were fired from the North at the soldier as he ran across the military demarcation line (MDL) inside the JSA, Nov. 13.During the first surgery that was conducted right after he was taken to the hospital, five bullets including ones from an AK-47 assault rifle were removed from his body. The first surgery took about five hours.During the three-and-a-half-hour second surgery, Nov. 15, the medical team removed damaged tissue

Nov 21, 2017

Military response on soldier's defection was proper: lawmaker

By Choi Ha-youngConservatives here are bashing the military for not returning fire when North Korean sentinels opened fire at a soldier who was escaping to the South, but experts lauded the decision that avoided full-scale war.Rep. Kim Jong-dae, a military expert-turned-lawmaker of the Justice Party, noted that rules of engagement at Panmunjeom aim at upholding peace for possible inter-Korean talks. “There, soldiers from the two Koreas are so close together, an accidental shooting could definitely lead to death for many,” Kim said in an interview Thursday.In case of North Korea attacking in other borderline areas, the South Korean military is required to return fire according to the rules of engagement of the South Korean authority. “However the Joint Security Area (JSA) is not subject to South Korean sovereignty. It’s controlled by the United Nations Command (UNC),” Kim said.“If the nation moves to ease the conditions for attack, Panmunjeom’s role for inter-Korean talks will be nullified. Who can start discussions in the area under the perma

Nov 19, 2017

North Korean soldier gets 2nd surgery

By Jun Ji-hyeThe North Korean soldier who defected to South Korea through the Joint Security Area (JSA) Monday is still in critical condition after undergoing a second surgery Wednesday for his gunshot wounds, hospital officials said. The Ajou University Hospital in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, said the three-and-a-half-hour surgery was successful as the medical team led by Dr. Lee Cook-jong removed damaged tissue and one remaining bullet from the body of the North Korean soldier. But it added it could not give a definite answer on whether the patient will survive. Dr. Lee told reporters Wednesday a number of complications could develop due to the soldier’s massive hemorrhaging.What has made the situation more difficult was a significant number of parasites, including a 27-centimeter-long roundworm, found in the soldier’s body, which reflects the dire situation in North Korean barracks.Lee said he has only ever seen such an amount of worms in textbooks in more than 20 years of his career as a surgeon. “Such a thing is very rare for South Koreans,” he said, adding

Nov 16, 2017

Rules of engagement at JSA in dispute

By Yi Whan-wooControversy is growing over the failure of South Korean soldiers at the Joint Security Area to return fire when North Korean sentinels opened fire at their comrade fleeing to the South, Monday.This was in line with the authority over the use of force at the JSA, which is jointly overseen by the United Nations Command (UNC) and North Korea.In 2004, the South Korean Army took over the duty of keeping security at the JSA from the U.S., which is located inside the Demilitarized Zone.But authority over the use of force still falls under the UNC commander, U.S. Forces Korea chief Gen. Brooks. South Korean soldiers are not allowed to use military force unless their action is justified under UNC rules of engagement applied to the JSA.It remains uncertain whether the North Koreans shot at the defector even after he crossed the Military Demarcation Line and entered the South Korean zone.The South Korean and U.S. soldiers recovered the defector without using any military force only a few minutes after he was shot and fatally wounded.Against this backdrop, President Moon Jae-in ask