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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.

Korean military willing to provide security forces to USFK amid IS warnings

Korea's military is willing to provide security forces to the United States' military units in the country to fend off potential terrorist attacks by the militant Islamic State (IS), which threatened to launch attacks against American installations here, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said Monday.Korea's police and military are stepping up their anti-terrorism readiness after the National Intelligence Service, the country's spy agency, said a day earlier that IS designated U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) air force facilities and a South Korean national as targets of attacks.The intelligence agency said the mapped locations of the USFK's air bases in Pyeongtaek and Gusan were among the 77 air forces facilities of the U.S. military and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization whose locations were exposed recently by IS on the internet messenger program Telegram."The joint chiefs have been informed of the related intelligence from concerned institutions and relayed them to the Combined Forces Command (between South Korea and the U.S.) and we are taking necessary preparations," a JCS official said."So

Jun 20, 2016

Korean Army expected to become multicultural starting 2025

An increasing number of conscripts from a mixed-race family background is expected to make the Army multicultural starting in 2025, a government official said Monday.According to the official, the Defense Ministry has forecast that the number of men from multicultural families to be enlisted will reach an average 8,518 a year between 2015 and 2031."The surge in the number of multicultural soldiers will inevitably turn the Army into a multicultural one," he said. "The ministry has started to come up with measures to deal with the change."The increase in the number of multicultural soldiers is attributed to a surge in the number of multicultural children aged 18 or younger, which came to 208,000 in 2015 from 25,000 in 2006.As cultural backgrounds are becoming diverse among soldiers, the Army should help these soldiers serve in stable surroundings, the official said, adding, "We need to respect and understand multicultural values in order to manage military units confronting the increasing diversity of multicultural backgrounds in the Army."As part of efforts to orient the Army into a m

Jun 20, 2016

Special Forces rifle still missing

/Courtesy of TwitterBy Lee Han-sooA K-1 rifle used by the Korean Special Forces is still missing after being lost during an airborne exercise on June 13.The rifle was dropped from a C-130 transport plane en route to Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province, during an airborne exercise.A sergeant reportedly dropped the weapon while preparing to parachute down.The rifle was not loaded.“We are experiencing difficulties because the search area is large,” said a military spokesman.“We are expanding our search along the transport route.”The military has asked local residents to report if they find the rifle. 

Jun 20, 2016
Special Forces rifle still missing

PM vows to bolster security following IS threat

Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn said Monday the government will beef up its security measures to tackle any potential terrorist threats, especially amid concerns that the Islamic State (IS) may be targeting South Korean citizens and U.S. military bases on its soil.The National Intelligence Service said IS has been calling for terrorist attacks through telegrams and messaging services by revealing the locations of 77 Air Force installations belonging to the United States and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in 21 countries, and also important individuals associated with them.The list included U.S. military bases in South Korea, as well as a local civil servant."The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant has been citing South Korea as a potential target for its attacks since last September," Hwang said, adding that Seoul will come up with measures to prevent terrorist attacks from occurring.The premier added that its counterterrorism center will also beef up its investigations and take every possible step to safeguard the general public. (Yonhap)

Jun 20, 2016

KAI, Airbus to co-develop naval chopper

Korea Aerospace Industries Ltd. (KAI), South Korea's sole aircraft maker, said Friday it will join forces with Europe's Airbus Helicopters to develop its Surion chopper to carry out maritime operations.A senior official at Airbus Helicopters told reporters in Paris that the two companies plan to co-develop a naval version of the Surion (KUH-1), saying there would be demand for about 250 such choppers over the next 10 years, according to pool reports.KAI and Airbus are among an estimated 1,600 defense-related suppliers attending the biennial Eurosatory defense expo, which kicked off in Paris on Monday for a five-day run.A naval helicopter, whose global market is estimated to reach some 70 trillion won ($60 billion), is designed to detect and attack surface ships or submarines.The Surion chopper was produced as part of a 1.3 trillion won military procurement project designed to create the country's first locally built helicopter. Since its first flight test in 2010, the helicopter has been adapted for both military and non-military missions.KAI and Airbus Helicopters (AH) have maintain

Jun 17, 2016

Navy kicks off exercise to defend western sea border

The South Korean Navy on Thursday kicked off a three-day maritime exercise to defend the western sea border from possible North Korean provocations, the military said.The exercise came as North Korean fishing and patrol boats often show up near the western maritime border, widely known as the Northern Limit Line (NLL), in June, the peak season for catching blue crabs.The maritime drill is being conducted amid the possibility that North Korea could provoke a maritime confrontation. The two Koreas fought several bloody sea battles along the NLL in 1999, 2002 and 2009.Pyongyang does not acknowledge the de facto demarcation line drawn unilaterally by the U.S.-led United Nations Command when the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a cease-fire."About 200 North Korean fishing vessels are operating in waters near the NLL," said a military official, adding that the figure is 1.7 times higher than last year.The drill will involve around 20 warships including the 7,600 ton Aegis-equipped destroyer and other military assets such as the P-3 surveillance plane and Lynx antisubmarine helicopters, accordin

Jun 16, 2016

Hanwha Thales to start radar development for KF-X jets next month: chief

South Korean defense manufacturer Hanwha Thales plans to kick off the process to develop an advanced radar system to be fitted onto the country's indigenous fighter jets next month, the company's CEO said Thursday.In April, the defense unit of conglomerate Hanwha Group was picked as the preferred bidder to build active electronically scanned array (AESA) radars for some 120 fighter jets that South Korea seeks to develop by the mid-2020s.Chang Si-kwon, chief executive of Hanwha Thales, told reporters in Paris that his company plans to produce a model of the AESA and that this will be used in operational tests with the Agency for Defense Development (ADD).Hanwha Thales, set to clinch the final contract with ADD, plans to produce the first prototype of the radar by June 2017 and another one by the following year if the radar works as planned."The parent group is fully supporting us in our efforts to become a world-class defense manufacturer," Chang said. "The group is stressing that we must succeed in developing the AESA radars."South Korea is seeking to deploy the new planes to be buil

Jun 16, 2016

Navy kicks off exercise to defend western sea border

The South Korean Navy on Thursday kicked off a three-day maritime exercise to defend the western sea border from possible North Korean provocations, the military said.The exercise will be conducted in a bid to deter North Korean patrol vessels from crossing the western maritime border, widely known as the Northern Limit Line , it said. The two Koreas fought several bloody sea battles along the NLL in 1999, 2002 and 2009.Pyongyang does not acknowledge the de facto demarcation line drawn unilaterally by the U.S.-led United Nations Command when the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a cease-fire.The drill will involve around 20 warships including the 7,600 tone Aegis-equipped destroyer and other military assets such as the P-3 surveillance plane and Lynx antisubmarine helicopters."We are keeping full combat readiness to swiftly respond to the enemy's possible provocations in waters off the west coast," the Navy said in a statement.Besides the naval clashes, North Korea torpedoed a South Korean warship in early 2010, killing 46 sailors, and it also shelled Yeonpyeong island near the demarcation

Jun 16, 2016

US bill fails to include amendment for THAAD deployment in S. Korea

The recently approved Senate defense budget bill for next year has failed to include a proposed amendment calling for deployment of the U.S. THAAD missile defense system in South Korea, a congressional source said Wednesday.The Senate passed the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 in a 85-13 vote Tuesday, authorizing $602 billion in defense spending. The legislation will later be combined with a House version before being sent to President Barack Obama.Late last month, Sen. Cory Gardner (R-CO) introduced a proposal to amend the legislation to include an expression of support for the potential deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system to South Korea to better defend against North Korean missile threats.But that proposal failed to make it into the bill, the source said.The proposal had said that the short-range, medium-range, and long-range ballistic missile programs of the North represent an imminent and growing threat to South Korea and the U.S. homeland, and that THAAD would effectively complement and significantly strengthen the existi

Jun 16, 2016

Army to deploy drones to deliver supplies to troops

The South Korean Army plans to deploy unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in the near future to deliver defense supplies to troops around the country, the military said Wednesday.The Army conducted a system demonstration of a delivery drone during a meeting held earlier in the day to evaluate the feasibility of the UAVs to ferry supplies, it said in a statement.The tested drone handily airlifted a 15 kilogram package to a designated spot during the demonstration, according to the statement."In comparison with the American online retailer Amazon's delivery drone that could pick up upwards of five kg, the defense supply drone demonstrated higher performance," the Army said.The Army and Korea Aerospace University co-developed the drone.The Army plans to conduct test flights of the UAV within this year before actually deploying them for use with troops, it said.Carrying 20 kg of goods, the drone could fly some 5 kilometers at a maximum altitude of 500 meters, it also said."If the drone is deployed, it could deliver supplies to remote mountainous areas or isolated posts during wartime as well

Jun 15, 2016
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