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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.

THAAD probe can lead to reform

By Jun Ji-hyeCheong Wa Dae’s investigation into the controversial deployment of a U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery here has ended in less than a week, with only one high-level official of the defense ministry being disciplined.Opposition parties criticized the government, claiming that the probe into the ministry’s omission of key information about the deployment in a policy report to the Moon Jae-in administration started strongly but ended with an anticlimax.Indeed, the outcome of the probe failed to punish the leadership of the defense sector, including Defense Minister Han Min-koo and former National Security Office chief Kim Kwan-jin who have been suspected of concealing the deployment process that began under the former Park Geun-hye government.Not many people seem to believe that it was Deputy Minister for Policy Wee Seung-ho’s unilateral action to omit details on the arrival of four additional THAAD launchers. Wee was named to the position only in January, months after South Korea agreed with the United States on the deployment after

Jun 7, 2017
THAAD probe can lead to reform

US nuclear-powered attack submarine visits Busan port

A US nuclear-powered attack submarine arrived in the southern port city of Busan on Tuesday in what appears to be another show of Washington's military might amid North Korea's continued saber-rattling.The 6,900-ton USS Cheyenne whose home port is Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, entered the ROK (Republic of Korea) Fleet Command in the city, some 450 kilometers south of Seoul, in the morning.The purpose of its visit is to have its crew take a rest and replenish supplies, a military official here said, declining to be named. The submarine has no plan to engage in any joint maneuvers with the South Korean Navy, the official added.The submarine's visit came amid heightened military tensions caused by Pyongyang's relentless missile provocations, for which the UN Security Council adopted a fresh sanctions resolution last week.The 110.3-meter-long submarine carries some 130 personnel and is equipped with Tomahawk cruise missiles with a range of some 3,100 kilometers and Harpoon ship-to-ship missiles with a range of some 130 km.Built in 1996, it has participated in various military operations, includi

Jun 6, 2017
US nuclear-powered attack submarine visits Busan port

Defense deputy minister suspended over THAAD controversy

By Jun Ji-hye President Moon Jae-in suspended the deputy defense minister for policy, Monday, for directing ministry officials to omit details of the controversial deployment of a U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery in the ministry’s recent briefings to the new administration.Moon’s chief press secretary Yoon Young-chan said at a press briefing that the President’s order came after the presidential office found out that Deputy Minister for Policy Wee Seung-ho told his subordinates to delete references to the arrival of four additional THAAD launchers in the ministry’s reports to the government launched early last month.Moon decided to suspend Wee at a meeting with his senior secretaries at Cheong Wa Dae, during which Cho Kuk, senior presidential secretary for civil affairs, reported the results of his office’s investigation into the incident.  “We confirmed that the person who ordered the omission was Wee,” Yoon said. “He ordered officials to ambiguously state the deployment process in the reports after de

Jun 5, 2017

Cheongju airport resumes flights to China suspended after THAAD row

Cheongju International Airport, which serves air traffic in central South Korea, has resumed flights to China that were suspended after the U.S. missile defense deployment row, the regional government said Sunday.According to North Chungcheong Province, China Southern Airlines resumed the Cheongju-Yanji route on May 3 and is operating three weekly flights.The airline had halted flights out of Cheongju on March 26, days after Beijing requested its travel agencies halt the sales of group tour packages to South Korea. Chinese authorities took such steps after Seoul pushed forward with the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile system on its soil.China has protested the installation of THAAD, claiming it hurts their national interest, while Seoul countered that the move is needed to better protect the country from evolving North Korean missile threats.In addition to the Chinese flag carrier, Korean Air Lines Co., South Korea's No. 1 full-service airline, is expected to resume flights linking Cheongju to Hangzhou starting Saturday.Korean Air in the past flew

Jun 4, 2017
Cheongju airport resumes flights to China suspended after THAAD row
  • Tough environmental study awaits THAAD
  • S. Korean, US defense chiefs reach 'understanding' on THAAD

S. Korean, US defense chiefs reach 'understanding' on THAAD

South Korean Defense Minister Han Min-koo on Saturday assured his American counterpart Jim Mattis that Seoul is not seeking to reverse the existing deal on the deployment of THAAD.In their bilateral talks here, Han said he explained a massive controversy in his country over the alleged lack of transparency in the process of the U.S. missile defense system being brought into the peninsula.The minister stressed that it's "entirely about a domestic measure" and South Korea's new government is not trying to change the THAAD decision itself and send any "different message" to Washington.In response, the Pentagon chief expressed the position that he "understands and trusts" that, according to Han who spoke with reporters shortly after the meeting held on the sideline of the Shangri-La Dialogue.Han told Mattis that Seoul will resolve the problem based on the "alliance spirit."Mattis did not speak separately to media.Their talks came amid growing doubts that the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) will be able to put THAAD in full operation by the end of this year as planned.Two THAAD interceptor launc

Jun 4, 2017
S. Korean, US defense chiefs reach 'understanding' on THAAD
  • Tough environmental study awaits THAAD
  • Cheongju airport resumes flights to China suspended after THAAD row

Military factions blocked THAAD info: lawmaker

By Choi Ha-youngRep. Hong Ihk-pyoA ruling party lawmaker alleged Friday that illegal military factions tied to former National Security Office (NSO) chief Kim Kwan-jin were behind the deployment of the U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system here.One of the factions, “Aljahoe,” played a role in keeping President Moon Jae-in in the dark about the delivery of four additional THAAD launchers, according to Rep. Hong Ihk-pyo of the Democratic Party of Korea.“It is highly suspected that the group has monopolized key posts in the military with help from high-ranking officials including Kim,” the lawmaker said.“For almost 10 years, Kim and his associates took control of all personnel affairs in the military. Using their influence, they could distort and conceal information about THAAD.”Kim had served as NSO head from 2014 up to May 21 this year. Before this, he was minister of national defense from 2010 in the ex-President Lee Myung-bak administration. He was a core decision maker in the THAAD deployment last year that was carried forward e

Jun 2, 2017
Military factions blocked THAAD info: lawmaker
  • Tough environmental study awaits THAAD

State auditor looking into KF-X project

By Rachel LeeThe Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) is looking into the nation’s indigenous KF-X fighter jet development program.According to the Board of Audit and Inspection of Korea (BAI), Friday, its investigation into the implementation of the project’s offset deal has been underway since April. The Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) is subject to the probe.A transfer of 25 technologies was included in the contract signed with Lockheed Martin in September 2014 in return for Korea’s purchase of 40 F-35 aircraft. However, before the project was officially kicked off in January last year, the program suffered a severe crisis after the U.S. government refused to allow Lockheed to hand over four core technologies _ the active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar, the electronic optics targeting pod (EOTGP), the infrared search and radio frequency (RF) jammer and the infrared search and tracking (IRST) system.DAPA said the nation would develop its own AESA radar, which the U.S. government refused to hand over to Korea for security reasons.Hanwha

Jun 2, 2017

Moon to speed up defense reform

Kim Kwan-jin, Han Min-koo in hot seat By Jun Ji-hyeThe defense ministry’s bungled handling of the controversial deployment of the U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system is leading to calls for its reform and an investigation of the previous security team.Kim Kwan-jinHan Min-kooCheong Wa Dae confirmed Wednesday that the ministry had “intentionally” omitted the arrival of four additional THAAD launchers here in recent briefings to the State Affairs Planning Advisory Committee as well as to President Moon Jae-in’s national security adviser, Chung Eui-yong.High-ranking defense officials of the former Park Geun-hye government, including Defense Minister Han Min-koo who is still in office, has been criticized for rushing to deploy the anti-missile system and keeping many of the decision-making processes secret.Since he was a presidential candidate, Moon has slammed the Park government for failing to build public consensus on the crucial security decision, calling on the issue to be discussed again by the new government.Moon’s order for a

May 31, 2017
Moon to speed up defense reform
  • Defense ministry deceived Moon on THAAD report

Defense ministry deceived Moon on THAAD report

By Kim RahnThe Ministry of National Defense concealed the arrival of four additional launchers for a U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery in its policy report to the Moon Jae-in administration, Cheong Wa Dae said Wednesday.“The draft made by the ministry’s working-level officials clearly stated six launchers had been brought in and four of them were being kept at a military base, but during a review by higher-level officials, this information was deleted,” said Yoon Young-chan, senior secretary for public relations. “We concluded the omission was deliberate.”If true, this constitutes dereliction of duty by the ministry, considering Moon is the commander-in-chief of the nation’s armed forces, and officials’ possible disapproval of him as the country’s new leader.The previous day Cheong Wa Dae said it found out the U.S. military had brought in four additional launchers for the THAAD battery deployed here, in addition to the two already in operation, and that the ministry did not report this to the new government until

May 31, 2017
Defense ministry deceived Moon on THAAD report
  • Defense ministry 'CHEATS' Moon on additional THAAD launcher deployment: presidential office
  • Moon to speed up defense reform

Defense ministry 'CHEATS' Moon on additional THAAD launcher deployment: presidential office

The presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said Wednesday it confirmed the defense ministry had intentionally omitted the delivery of additional THAAD launchers in a recent briefing.Yoon Young-chan, chief presidential press secretary, said that the finding came after an investigation into several ministry officials, including the deputy minister for policy.A day earlier, President Moon Jae-in expressed his frustration and ordered a probe into why the delivery of four additional launchers of the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense system was not disclosed."Yesterday (Tuesday), Cheong Wa Dae called in several defense officials and intensively investigated how (the delivery) was omitted in the briefing," Yoon told reporters."As a result of the probe, we found out that the wording (about the delivery) was deleted in the process of (senior officials) reading the draft report (written by working-level officials) multiple times," he added.A THAAD battery consists of six truck-mounted launchers, 48 interceptors (eight per launcher), a fire control and communications unit and an AN/TPY-2 radar.The

May 31, 2017
Defense ministry 'CHEATS' Moon on additional THAAD launcher deployment: presidential office
  • THAAD launchers brought in without Moon's knowledge
  • Defense ministry deceived Moon on THAAD report
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