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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.

S. Korea's defense chief pledges 'powerful retaliation' against N. Korean provocation

Defense Minister Han Min-koo called on a counter-artillery unit to "retaliate powerfully" against any North Korean provocations during a troop visit Monday.The trip to the multiple launch rocket system (MLRS) unit came as North Korea stepped up its artillery threats on Seoul. North Korea said last week it has conducted the final test-fire of a large-caliber MLRS that is ready for combat deployment.The imminent deployment of the multiple 300-millimeter caliber rocket launching system reportedly places half of the South Korean territory within its range.The defense ministry did not specify the counter-artillery unit Han visited, but the military started deploying locally built Chunmoo MLRS batteries with field troops in August last year.With a maximum range of 80 kilometers, the artillery system is a key counter-artillery asset vis-a-vis North Korea's long-range artillery threats, including those from Pyongyang's MLRS units."In the event of an enemy provocation, our military should retaliate powerfully and without hesitation in order to wipe out their will to launch another provocation

Mar 28, 2016

Trump's remarks fuel debate over S. Korea's nuclear armament

Republican front-runner Donald Trump's remarks about allowing South Korea to nuclearize are adding fuel to a simmering debate over Seoul's potential nuclear option to counter Pyongyang's escalating threats, observers here said Monday.In an interview with the New York Times on Friday, the U.S. real-estate magnet said he would be "open" to allowing the South and Japan to build nuclear arms against the North and China. He argued they would go nuclear anyway if the U.S. keeps its "current path of weakness."Analysts said that it is noteworthy that the U.S. political heavyweight has raised the possibility of the South's nuclearization. But they dismissed Trump's remarks as part of his "surreal and populist" campaign rhetoric."His mentions of the South's nuclear armament and the potential withdrawal of U.S. forces from the Korean Peninsula are quite worrisome," said Chang Yong-seok, a senior researcher at the Institute for Peace and Unification Studies at Seoul National University."But that may be just empty talk as he caters to the public opinion in the U.S. that the South should stand on

Mar 28, 2016
Trump's remarks fuel debate over S. Korea's nuclear armament
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Marine Corps chief calls for tighter defense of capital area

The commanding officer of the Marine Corps inspected front-line troops on Monday and called for strengthening defense around the capital city amid a rise in inter-Korean tensions. Earlier in the month, the North threatened to engulf Cheong Wa Dae -- South Korea's presidential office -- and other state organizations in "a sea of fire" as the country stepped up its saber-rattling campaign.It has also carried out a military assault exercise against a replica of South Korea's capital of Seoul.Such actions pushed President Park Geun-hye to put the police on high alert for possible terrorist attacks by the North."The Marine Corps should be keenly aware that it is in charge of defending the part of the 156-mile border in the Gimpo and Ganghwa to Baengnyeong Island regions," Lt. Gen. Lee Sang-hoon said during his visit to Marine Corps units in the western coastal area."The Northern Limit Line and the mouth of the Han River, west of the capital area, should be defended with watertight readiness," he noted. "Our combat readiness and determination to hit back" could assuage the public's jitters

Mar 28, 2016

S. Korea building up counter-artillery system against N. Korea's rocket launchers

South Korea is building up a comprehensive counter-artillery system to guard against growing threats posed by North Korea's multiple rocket launchers, the defense ministry said Monday.North Korea said last week it has conducted the final test-fire of a large-caliber multiple rocket launching system (MRLS) that is ready for combat deployment.The imminent deployment of the multiple 300-millimeter caliber rocket launching system reportedly places half of the South Korean territory within its range."Against the threats from North Korea's multiple rocket launchers and long-range artillery, (the military) is building up a countermeasure system based on an anti-artillery warfare concept," ministry spokesman Moon Sang-gyun said in a press briefing earlier in the day.As part of the efforts, the military is developing a new attack system that puts together some of its artillery weapons like its own Chunmoo MRLS, the Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) surface-to-surface missile, and the SLAM-ER air-launched cruise missiles used by the Air Force, Moon noted."We are making relentless efforts t

Mar 28, 2016

S. Korea building up counter-artillery system against N. Korea's multiple rocket launchers

South Korea is building up a comprehensive counter-artillery system to guard against growing threats posed by North Korea's multiple rocket launchers, the defense ministry said Monday.North Korea said last week it has conducted the final test-fire of a large-caliber multiple rocket launching system (MRLS) that is ready for combat deployment.The imminent deployment of the multiple 300-millimeter caliber rocket launching system reportedly places half of the South Korean territory within its range."Against the threats from North Korea's multiple rocket launchers and long-range artillery, (the military) is building up a countermeasure system based on an anti-artillery warfare concept," ministry spokesman Moon Sang-gyun said in a press briefing earlier in the day. As part of the efforts, the military is developing a new attack system that puts together some of its artillery weapons like its own Chunmoo MRLS, the Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) surface-to-surface missile, and the SLAM-ER air-launched cruise missiles used by the Air Force, Moon noted. "We are making relentless efforts

Mar 28, 2016

Trump supports South Korea's nuclear armament

U.S. Republican front-runner Donald Trump said in a news interview released over the weekend that if he becomes president, he will allow South Korea to have its own nuclear weapons and consider pulling out U.S. troops from the country.According to The New York Times picked up in Seoul on Sunday, Trump described his foreign policy as being "America first" and that he will not stand by as the U.S. is "ripped off" by smarter, shrewder and tougher countries.The entrepreneur-turned-politician said that he is not adverse to South Korea and Japan developing their own nuclear deterrence to check Pyongyang's provocations.He said that with North Korea having nukes, it makes sense if neighboring countries have similar weapons to protect themselves.The North, despite warnings from the international community has detonated four nuclear devices starting in 2006, with the latest being tested on Jan. 6.He then said that unless South Korea and Japan significantly increased their contributions to Washington's military presence on their soil, he would withdraw soldiers. Trump said such a move is not so

Mar 27, 2016
Trump supports South Korea's nuclear armament

S. Korea's top military commander checks frontline combat readiness

South Korea's top military commander checked the combat readiness of frontline troops on Friday as inter-Korean tensions have flared up in the face of North Korea's continuing provocations.Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Lee Sun-jin visited the VIII Corps and Navy 1st Fleet earlier in the day to look into their military preparedness, the military said. The Army corps is in charge of guarding the eastern part of the heavily militarized border while the Navy fleet defends the East Sea area. "North Korea is likely to launch sudden provocations at an unexpected time and place," the four-star general said. He said Pyongyang could also conduct an additional nuclear test or launch a long-range missile.Other possibilities involve artillery attacks, drone infiltration or terrorist activities in the rear, he noted. "In the event of provocations, retaliate powerfully and without hesitation," the JCS chairman stressed to Army servicemen.During his visit with Navy troops, Lee brought up earlier maritime military clashes with North Korea, and ordered the forces to "safeguard the East Sea at al

Mar 25, 2016

S. Korea, US conduct naval training to commemorate past inter-Korean naval clashes

The South Korean and United States navies conducted a joint training exercise on Friday, in remembrance of the sailors and soldiers killed in recent clashes with North Korea, the military said Friday.South Korea commemorated the deaths from the three past inter-Korean skirmishes near the western sea border area on Commemoration Day, which has been designated on the fourth Friday of March.In 2010 alone, 48 soldiers were killed in two military conflicts between the rival Koreas.In March that year, North Korea torpedoed the South Korean Navy corvette Cheonan, and in October, the country shelled the frontline South Korean island of Yeonpyeong along the Northern Limit Line, the de facto maritime border.The Friday naval training took place in South Korea's western, eastern and southern seas simultaneously, involving Aegis combat system-equipped warships from both South Korea and the U.S. destroyer along with a host of other navy vessels, the Navy said.A number of sea-borne aircraft were also mobilized for the drill.The joint drills included anti-submarine operations and live-fire naval art

Mar 25, 2016

S. Korea to develop automatic alarm system to increase crew survivability

South Korea will develop an automatic alarm system that can increase the survivability of the crew in emergency situations such as an attack by North Korea, the Navy said Thursday.The automatic system will tell how to escape a stricken ship and how to close compartment bulkheads to control damages so as to keep the vessel afloat.According to the Navy's announcement on major projects for this year, the new Korean damage control management system is basically intended to increase the survivability of the ships as well as crew members aboard.It said the new program is a bid to strengthen the naval forces' war potential as it observes the sixth anniversary of the torpedoing of South Korean Navy corvette Cheonan by a North Korean submarine.On March 26, 2010, North Korea carried out a torpedo attack on the South Korean ship which sank off the coast of the northwestern island of Baengnyeong, taking with it 46 sailors. Since then, the South Korean Navy has made changes ranging from updating equipment and constructing ships to setting up drills to effectively counter North Korean provocations

Mar 24, 2016

S. Korea, Japan's Navy chiefs to discuss military collaboration next week

The naval chiefs of South Korea and Japan will hold talks next week on ways to increase collaboration in joint search and rescue exercises, anti-piracy operations and other military issues, the Navy said Thursday.The high-level talks between South Korea's Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jung Ho-sub and Adm. Tomohisa Takei, chief commander of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, will be held on Monday in the Gyeryongdae military headquarters in central South Korea.The main topics of discussion will include the two navies' collaboration in joint search and rescue drills and operations to combat piracy as well as personnel exchanges, according to the Navy.The Japanese commander will arrive in South Korea on Monday for a four-day trip here, which will also include courtesy calls on Defense Minister Han Min-koo and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Lee Sun-jin, the Navy also said. The planned meeting marks the first of its kind between the naval chiefs of the two countries since South Korea's top commander visited Japan in July 2011. (Yonhap)

Mar 24, 2016
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