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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.

NK reveals arrival of B-1B bombers

By Yi Whan-wooNorth Korean state media reported Tuesday that two U.S. B-1B Lancer strategic bombers conducted a “nuclear bombing drill” the previous day over waters near the Military Demarcation Line (MDL).The South Korean military confirmed the arrival of the U.S. planes hours after the North Korean report.Flights of U.S. bombers over the Korean Peninsula have repeatedly been made known through North Korea this year.“The United States made a grave military provocation yet again, bringing its notorious B-1B bombers into South Korean airspace for a nuclear bombing drill,” the Korean Central News Agency (KNCA) said.It added the aircraft flew over the waters 80 kilometers east of Gangneung, which is close to the MDL on the east coast, after taking off from the U.S. military base in Guam.The bombers were joined by fighter jets from both the South Korean Air Force and the USS Carl Vinson, a U.S. nuclear-powered super carrier operating in the East Sea.“They frantically carried out drills aimed at a surgical strike of our major facilities,” the KCNA said.

May 30, 2017

President orders probe into 'uninformed' THAAD launcher installment

South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Tuesday ordered a special probe into what the presidential office called the secret or undisclosed entry of four rocket launchers into the country under the U.S. missile defense program deployed here, the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said."President Moon was briefed on such facts by National Security Office (NSO) chief Chung Eui-yong and said it was very shocking," Moon's chief press secretary Yoon Young-chan said at a press briefing.The president then called Defense Minister Han Min-koo to confirm the delivery of the four rocket launchers into the country, Yoon added.Han confirmed, also admitting he had prior knowledge.The Cheong Wa Dae official said the equipment in question came in addition to two launchers that have been authorized and deployed as part of the THAAD missile defense system.The defense ministry, however, failed to disclose the entry of the additional equipment to the new government despite its report to Moon's de facto power transition team last week, Yoon noted."President Moon ordered his senior secretary for civil affairs

May 30, 2017
President orders probe into 'uninformed' THAAD launcher installment

3,500 US troops to deploy to S. Korea as part of force rotation

A U.S. Army brigade with some 3,500 troops will deploy to South Korea this summer as part of a regular rotation of forces, the Department of the Army has announced.The 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team of the 1st Cavalry Division stationed at Fort Hood, Texas, will replace the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, and support the United States Forces-Korea's commitment to Republic of Korea partners, the department said in a statement."The Black Jack Brigade looks forward to returning to the Republic of Korea," said Col Steve Adams, commander of the 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, in the statement. "Our troopers are trained and ready for this vital mission, and we are honored to sustain and strengthen this longstanding strategic alliance."The two brigades have alternately been deployed to South Korea since a permanent unit was decommissioned under a 2014 decision.US officials have said the decision to have rotational forces, instead of a permanent unit, increases efficiency and cohesion among members of the unit because the entire brigade will be trained, deployed and

May 30, 2017
3,500 US troops to deploy to S. Korea as part of force rotation

US to conduct 1st ICBM intercept test this week

By Jun Ji-hyeThe United States plans to conduct the first-ever test of a missile defense system on Tuesday to shoot down an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) heading to the U.S. mainland, according to AP.The test comes as North Korea seems close to developing a nuclear-tipped ballistic missile capable of striking the continental U.S.Since 1999, Washington has carried out 17 interceptor tests against other types of ballistic missiles, but never an ICBM. Among the tests, nine were a success with the most recent success in June 2014.AP said an interceptor will be launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California and attempt to destroy the target, which will be fired from a test range on Kwajalein Atoll in the Pacific.The target will be a custom-made missile meant to simulate an ICBM, AP added.During his New Year’s address, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un claimed his regime was in the final stages of test-firing an ICBM.The North’s KN-08 or KN-14 road-mobile ICBM, which has been never tested, is believed to have a range of more than 10,000 kilometers.On May 15, Py

May 28, 2017

US analyst says Washington's attack on N. Korea imminent

By Jun Ji-hyeGeorge Friedman, a U.S. geopolitical analyst, has claimed that Washington is preparing to attack North Korea.Speaking at the 2017 Strategic Investment Conference in Orlando, Florida, Monday, he said the Kim Jong-un regime’s actions have “offered the U.S. no alternative” to a clash, according to Business Insider, a U.S. business news website.The comment came at a time when the North is continuing to push for provocations including two ballistic missile tests this month in defiance of international condemnation and sanctions.On May 15, the North announced, through its state media, that it successfully test-fired a new surface-to-surface medium to long-range ballistic missile the previous day, saying that the missile is “capable of carrying a large-size heavy nuclear warhead” and reaching the U.S. mainland.Friedman, the founder of Geopolitical Futures, noted that Washington is unlikely to take action until U.S. President Donald Trump returns home this weekend from his tour of the Middle East and Europe, but a U.S. military attack on the North s

May 24, 2017
  • Moon needs 'carrot and stick' for N. Korea

Seoul needs to redesign missile defense

N. Korea’s evolving technology makes KAMD ineffectiveBy Jun Ji-hye North Korea’s move to deploy a new type of ballistic missile is increasing pressure on the South Korean military to redesign its envisioned missile defense system, scheduled to be completed in the 2020s.During a test Sunday, Pyongyang successfully launched the missile propelled by a solid-fuel engine using a caterpillar-tracked, transport erector launch (TEL) vehicle, according to the North’s state media, Monday.The North’s Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) noted that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, who oversaw the launch, approved the mass production and deployment of the new missile.The use of a solid-fuel engine and new vehicle means North Korea will be able to prepare missile launches in greater secrecy, making it much more difficult to detect, trace and intercept them, compared to a missile propelled by a liquid fuel engine and launched from a wheeled TEL.Accordingly, the Korean Air and Missile Defense (KAMD) system, which is currently being developed here with a focus on air defense

May 22, 2017

2 US carriers prepare for military drill in East Sea

The U.S. Navy's Carl Vinson Strike Group holds a joint exercise with South Korean warships in the East Sea in this undated file photo provided by South Korea's Navy. / YonhapBy Lee Han-sooThe aircraft carrier USS Ronald Regan will join the USS Carl Vinson for a military drill in the East Sea, according to CNN, citing a U.S. Department of Defense official on Saturday.The move, just days after North Korea conducted a missile test, is the first time two U.S. aircraft carriers have conducted a drill in the East Sea.The USS Ronald Reagan, which had been undergoing maintenance at its homeport in Yokosuka, Japan, returned to sea on May 16, according to the U.S. Navy. The aircraft carrier will take part in a variety of training exercises mainly focused on certifying its ability to launch and recover aircraft safely. It is also expected to replace the USS Carl Vinson in the region.Meanwhile, North Korea has stepped up its provocation by firing a ground-to-ground Pukguksong-2 missile in the country's western province on Sunday.The launch was the second in a week, following the test of a m

May 22, 2017
2 US carriers prepare for military drill in East Sea

Moon questions legitimacy of THAAD installation

South Korean President Moon Jae-in shakes hands with Matt Pottinger, senior director for East Asia at U.S. National Security Council, in a brief meeting at his presidential office Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul on May 16, 2017. / YonhapBy Lee Han-sooPresident Moon Jae-in’s national security aide has reaffirmed Moon’s position on the need for National Assembly ratification of the deployment of an American missile defense system in a meeting with Matt Pottinger, the East Asia director on the White House’s National Security Council.“Problems have been raised regarding the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system,” Chung Eui-yong, head of Moon’s security and diplomatic task force, said during the Tuesday meeting. “This has to be talked through in the National Assembly.”Pottinger and the U.S. delegation did not comment on Chung’s remarks during the meeting, according to presidential office Cheong Wa Dae.But Pottinger, after a meeting with Lee Jung-gyu, the assistant vice minister for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,

May 17, 2017
Moon questions legitimacy of THAAD installation

US carrier strike group to stay near Korea amid tensions

A high-profile U.S. naval strike group, led by the USS Carl Vinson, is staying near the Korean Peninsula on an open-ended mission, a defense official here said Tuesday.The aircraft carrier arrived in Korean waters late last month as a show of force against North Korea.It's widely expected to be replaced by the USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier, which is homeported in Japan and preparing to resume its operations after months of regular maintenance."Joint drills between South Korea and the U.S. (involving the Vinson) are under way," Cdr. Jang Wook, a spokesman for the South Korean Navy, told reporters, adding the closing date has not yet been set.He would not elaborate on whether the North's latest ballistic missile test has affected the schedule. (Yonhap)

May 16, 2017
US carrier strike group to stay near Korea amid tensions

THAAD to test Moon's diplomatic finesse

By Jun Ji-hyePresident Moo Jae-in faces a tough diplomatic challenge involving the controversial deployment of a U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery in South Korea.Experts say the THAAD issue is one of the urgent matters that the new administration needs to resolve, given that the issue has become complicated due to U.S. President Donald Trump’s abrupt call on Seoul to pay $1 billion for the deployment as well as China’s economic sanctions against Seoul in retaliation.Domestically, arguments both for and against the deployment are ongoing as well, with residents living in Seongju, North Gyeongsang Province — the site of the advanced missile defense system — still protesting against it.Throughout his campaign, Moon showed a firm position calling on the THAAD issue to be discussed again by the new government. He said the new leader should be allowed to use the issue as a diplomatic card in dealing with relations with the U.S. and China as well as North Korea.Criticizing the former President Park Geun-hye’s rush to agree to the installa

May 11, 2017
  • Xi invites Moon to Beijing
  • Moon, Trump to meet in Washington late June
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