South Korea - The Korea Times

S. Korean Air Force website shut for 13 days by hacking

South Korea's Air Force website has been experiencing problems for 13 days due to an unidentified hacking attack, local officials said Wednesday.An official said the Air Force suspended its website operations from the early morning of May 12 when malicious code was found in it.The Air Force is currently operating a temporary website to provide public services such as information on conscription and other notices that affect the public.The armed forces branch and the military's Cyber Warfare Command are conducting an investigation into how the site was hacked and whether there is any leak of classified information.According to the official, there has been no damage reported from the hack so far, saying the outflow of military information is impossible as the Air Force's website is separate from internal networks.Another official said initial probes showed that the possibility of a North Korean attack is low.He said that there has been a rise in hacking attempts targeting the South Korean military and military-related organizations.On May 12, South Korea's military opened an investigat

May 25, 2016

S. Korean Air Force website shut for 13 days by hacking

Navy to upgrade training facilities

/Courtesy of Yonhap News AgencyBy Lee Han-soo“The training facility for the Republic of Korea Navy 1st Fleet base was built in the 1980s,” a Navy official told Yonhap news agency.“We are planning to upgrade this facility by 2018 and will implement actual sea conditions and battle environments.“This is to increase the chances of survival in case of an attack similar to North Korea’s torpedo attack on the South Korean naval frigate Cheonan in 2010 that killed 46 sailors.”The new training facility, which replicates a Corvette class warship, can house 65 trainees and five officers.The facility will have replicas of a bridge, an engine room, pump chambers, sleeping quarters and other crucial rooms inside a warship.Training will be held in real-life conditions, with the ship rocking at a 15 degree angle or being tilted after an attack.The navy also plans to update other training facilities at Navy 2nd and 3rd Fleet bases from 2020. 

May 23, 2016

PM vows to fight terrorism at humanitarian summit

Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn on Monday said South Korea will expand efforts to root out terrorism and support conflict-prone countries at a global humanitarian conference in Turkey.Speaking on behalf of the Seoul government at the World Humanitarian Summit, Hwang said the Northeast Asian country will seek long-term support to resolve humanitarian problems around the globe."As the humanitarian crisis is linked with peace, security, human rights and development, there must be mid-to-long term support, rather than just short-lived aid," the prime minister said. "South Korea will also join global cooperation endeavors to overcome such crisis situations.""When taking the size and gravity of humanitarian crisis around the globe into consideration, the problems cannot be solved through struggles made by a few countries. There must be global, continuous and fundamental approaches," he added.Hwang said South Korea will also expand its contribution to the United Nations for projects supporting conflict-prone countries. The top policymaker added the country will also increase assistance for fem

May 23, 2016

S. Korea's nuclear armament could undermine US influence in Asia: report

Encouraging South Korea to develop nuclear weapons could undermine American influence in Asia, unravel the U.S. alliance system and spark a nuclear arms race in the region, a congressional report said in apparent criticism of Donald Trump's suggestion to do so."Presidential candidate Donald Trump in spring 2016 stated that he was open to South Korea's developing its own nuclear arsenal to counter the North Korean nuclear threat," the Congressional Research Service said in the recent report on South Korea-U.S. relations.Should South Korea seek to go nuclear, the country could face such negative consequences as reduced international standing in the campaign to denuclearize North Korea, the possible imposition of economic sanctions and potentially encouraging Japan to develop nuclear weapons capability, the CRS report said."For the United States, encouraging South Korea to develop nuclear weapons could mean diminished U.S. influence in Asia, the unraveling of the U.S. alliance system and the possibility of creating a destabilizing nuclear arms race in Asia," the report said.The report a

May 23, 2016

S. Korea-stationed U.S. forces' relocation in full swing

The main contingent of United States' forces in South Korea has started to relocate from central Seoul to a provincial city located further south, putting its landmark base relocation operation in full swing, the defense ministry here said Thursday.The U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) and South Korea are currently in the process of moving American troops based in Seoul and in northern Gyeonggi Province to Camp Humphreys, in Pyeongtaek, 70 kilometers southeast of the capital.The relocation will result in most of the 28,000-strong USFK forces being moved out of Seoul. U.S. troops have been stationed in the Yongsan district in Seoul ever since the 1950-53 Korean War.The Ministry of National Defense's USFK relocation task force said the general staff of the Eighth Army, the USFK's main Army troops, has begun to move to Pyeongtaek as the construction effort enters its final stage at the base.Construction work is 89 percent complete at Pyeongtaek, according to the relocation task force.The general staff will prepare for next year's annual joint exercises with South Korea, the Key Resolve and Foal

May 19, 2016

S. Korean special forces join regional anti-piracy exercise

Some 330 South Korean special forces troops took part in a regional anti-piracy exercise in the South China Sea region with 17 other countries, the defense ministry said Tuesday.The maritime security exercise, which ran from May 1-12 in the waters between Singapore and Brunei, brought together special army and navy forces from the ASEAN Defense Ministers' Meeting Plus (ADMM-Plus), it said.ADMM-Plus is a gathering of 10 ASEAN nations plus eight dialogue partners including South Korea, Japan, China, Russia and the United States.South Korea's Navy destroyer Choe Yeong also joined the regional exercise on its way back from a mission with South Korea's anti-piracy troops, the Cheonghae Unit, stationed in the Gulf of Aden in the Arabian Sea off Somalia.The latest joint exercise simulated a rescue mission on a merchant ship hijacked en route from a Brunei port to Singapore, the ministry said in a statement.The simulation involved maritime and ground rescue operations to free hostages held in a hijacked vessel and a pirates' base, it said."Our military boosted its anti-piracy capabilities, n

May 17, 2016

Changes may occur to defense-cost sharing under Trump presidency

Changes appear inevitable to South Korea's defense cost-sharing agreement and free trade pact with the U.S. under a Donald Trump presidency as the businessman-turned-presidential candidate is determined to review the deals from scratch and overhaul them, if necessary, to maximize American interests.Walid Phares, a top foreign policy adviser to the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, said in an interview with Yonhap News Agency and Yonhap News Television that Trump wants to "go back to ground zero" and is ready to renegotiate the landmark trade deal that has been in effect since 2012.It was the first time that a Trump campaign official has mentioned the possibility of negotiating the pact that has been viewed as an economic alliance between the two countries. Renegotiation attempts could set off a diplomatic row."When we say renegotiate it does not mean cancel everything. It means to sit down and see, this is what has happened in America since the time we have negotiated and had the agreement and you tell us what are your cards, and we come closer," Phares said.He also made c

May 16, 2016

Koreans' jobs at US bases in jeopardy

A Korean employee at the main gate of Camp Red Cloud, a U.S. military base in Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi Province, stages a one-man protest, Sunday, demanding job security for all Korean workers there after the base is relocated to Pyeongtaek./ YonhapBy Rachel LeeThousands of Korean employees at two U.S. military bases in Korea are facing massive layoffs because of the planned relocation of the camps. Under a plan signed between Korea and the U.S., the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) headquarters and 8th Army headquarters, located in Yongsan Garrison in central Seoul and the 2nd Infantry Division (2ID), north of Seoul, will be moved to Camp Humphreys, a U.S. Army garrison in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province.About 5,000 Koreans are working at the military bases.There is a growing fear that at least half of the jobs of Korean employees might be on the line, but there has been no explanation from the U.S. military regarding its plans to cut jobs or reassign personnel, arousing anxiety among the workers, the USFK Korean Employees Union said Sunday.On Thursday, the labor union began a one-person prot

May 15, 2016

Seoul mayor opposes gov't's US military base development plan

Air Force squadron achieves 150,000 accident-free flight hours

A South Korean squadron achieved 150,000 mishap-free flight hours over a period of 40 years and seven months, the country's Air Force said Sunday.The Air Force said that its 237 Tactical Control Squadron of the 8th Fighter Wing has achieved 150,000 flight hours without any accident after its KA-1 light attack aircraft landed safely at an Air Force base on Friday. This is the longest accident-free record for a single squadron, the Air Force said."The record is meaningful because the squadron has achieved the feat while operating the KA-1 in recent years and helped prove the safety of the South Korean-made aircraft," the Air Force said.It said the squadron's aircraft have flown a combined 48.3 million kilometers since October 1975, which is equivalent to circling the Earth 1,207 times.The 237 squadron, established on Oct. 10, 1974, is the only tactical control squadron in South Korea. Its duty is to control air attacks for close air support missions, counter local provocations and conduct air-ground-sea joint operations. (Yonhap)

May 15, 2016

S. Korea pushes to deploy 100 more K2 tanks against N. Korea

South Korea's military is pushing to field some 100 additional units of the locally built K2 Black Panther tanks to strengthen frontline defense against North Korea, a military official said Thursday."The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) submitted the request citing the need for 100 or so more K2 tanks in October and the Ministry of National Defense is carrying out a verification of the demand," the military official said.K2 is the South Korean Army's main battle tank (MBT) and has been produced since 2013. The tank developed in the country has been reaching frontline units starting in 2014, with a total of 206 K2 tanks having been deployed or are in the process of being delivered.The additional production plan, if accepted, would push up the number of the South Korean military's fleet to more than 300 tanks. The K2s augment the K1 battle tanks that are in widespread service among the country's military.The move is in response to North Korea increasing its tank numbers starting in 2005. Currently the communist state is believed to have some 4,500 tanks in its inventory, roughly twice the

May 12, 2016

Defense

Defense

S. Korean Air Force website shut for 13 days by hacking

Navy to upgrade training facilities

PM vows to fight terrorism at humanitarian summit

S. Korea's nuclear armament could undermine US influence in Asia: report

S. Korea-stationed U.S. forces' relocation in full swing

S. Korean special forces join regional anti-piracy exercise

Changes may occur to defense-cost sharing under Trump presidency

Koreans' jobs at US bases in jeopardy

Air Force squadron achieves 150,000 accident-free flight hours

S. Korea pushes to deploy 100 more K2 tanks against N. Korea

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