Defense

South Korea, U.S., Japan pushing for talks among JCS chiefs

South Korea, the United States and Japan plan to hold talks among their military chiefs in February, an official here said Monday, in the aftermath of North Korea's fourth nuclear test earlier in the month.The three countries are pushing to hold a video conference next month among Gen. Lee Sun-jin, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), and his American and Japanese counterparts -- Gen. Joseph Dunford and Adm. Katsutoshi Kawano -- a JCS spokesman said during a regular briefing.Details of the conference, including how and when it will be carried out, are still under review, the spokesman said. North Korea conducted on Jan. 6 what it claims was a successful hydrogen bomb test, escalating military tensions on the Korean Peninsula.Since then, South Korea has played loudspeaker broadcasts along the tensely fortified inter-Korean border, criticizing the North Korean regime in retaliation.Four days after the test, the U.S. flew a B-52 Stratofortress strategic bomber in the skies of South Korea in a major show of force aimed at deterring the communist country from further military prov

Senior U.S. diplomat to visit South Korea next week

Ambassador Thomas Shannon, a senior U.S. diplomat and counselor of the State Department, will visit South Korea next week for talks on the response to North Korea's nuclear test, the alliance between the two countries and global issues of concern, the State Department said Friday.Ambassador Shannon will be in Seoul this coming Wednesday and Thursday, and his visit will include a trip to the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) in addition to the bilateral meetings he will have with Korean officials on the “U.S.-Korea Alliance, our shared global priorities, and our response to recent North Korean provocations,” the department said.Before coming to South Korea, Shannon plans to visit Tokyo today through Wednesday for meetings with the political directors of the Group of Seven industrialized countries to discuss various topics as they prepare for the G7 Foreign Ministers meeting hosted by Japan later in the year, the U.S. State Department reported.While in Tokyo, Shannon will meet with Japanese leaders to discuss regional security, the U.S.-Japan Alliance, a common approach to global ch

S. Korea puts KF-X fighter jet project in full swing

South Korea officially kicked off its multi-billion-dollar project Thursday to produce home-made fighter jets over the next decade.Under the Korean Fighter Experimental (KF-X) project by the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, contractor airplane maker Korea Aerospace Industries Ltd. (KAI) will come up with six units of a home-grown prototype fighter by 2021.The test fighters will undergo flight tests for four years before the development project will be completed by mid-2026, according to DAPA.In the project the KAI will manufacture 120 fighter jets from 2026 through 2032 to replace the Air Force's aging fleet of F-4 and F-5 fighters, DAPA said. DAPA held a meeting with KAI and military officials from Indonesia earlier in the day in the KAI's factory in Sacheon, South Gyeongsang Province, to officially start the project.Indonesia is the KAI's foreign partner for the fighter jet project, having signed a contract last year to finance 20 percent of the cost in the development phase. Under the deal, Indonesia will also be entitled to acquire the aviation technology of the projec

THAAD to provide South Korea with valuable capability: CSIS report

The U.S. THAAD missile defense system would provide South Korea with great protection against growing missile threats from North Korea, a U.S. think tank report said Wednesday.The Center for Strategic and International Studies made the suggestion in a report on the U.S. rebalance to Asia policy, saying the Asian nation "has no area defense capabilities against North Korean ballistic missiles."Chinese demarches have made a potential THAAD deployment a "sensitive issue" for Seoul, it said."The ROK military has expressed interest in developing an indigenous THAAD-like system, but U.S. experience with these types of systems suggests a multi-decade effort would be required to develop and deploy such a missile defense system," the report said. "Given the growing missile threat from North Korea, THAAD provides a valuable capability," it said.The U.S. also wants to deploy a THAAD unit to South Korea, where some 28,500 American troops are stationed, to better defend against ever-growing threats from North Korea's ballistic missile and nuclear programs.But the issue has become one of the most

Defense minister, top U.S. diplomat discuss joint reaction to N. Korea's nuke test

Defense Minister Han Min-koo and U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Tony Blinken held talks Wednesday as the allies are quickening moves to punish North Korea for its defiant nuclear test earlier this month."Despite repeated warnings and worries by the international community, North Korea conducted its fourth nuclear test, and it is a grave threat to the Korean Peninsula and the international community," Han said in the opening of the talks held in the Ministry of National Defense in Seoul."The South Korean government is discussing international sanctions or bilateral sanctions on North Korea in light of President Park Geun-hye's pledge to make North Korea pay a price proportional (to the test)," the defense minister noted. Blinken echoed the view, saying, "There's no greater source of instability than North Korea in Asia."He said South Korea and the U.S. will face the North Korean challenge "in total solidarity," adding, "There must be a strong response from the international community." Blinken arrived in Seoul on Tuesday as part of his three-nation trip to Northeast Asia, aimed at a j

Gov't calls for parliamentary endorsement of anti-terrorism bills

The government renewed its call on Wednesday for the parliamentary approval of anti-terrorism bills to protect the lives of South Koreans, citing growing threats of terrorism around the world.In addition to the first bill proposed by the government in 2011 following the 9/11 attacks, a number of anti-terrorist bills are currently pending in the National Assembly. However, the bills have not yet been put to a full floor vote due to strong dissent from the opposition party on concern about giving more authority to the National Intelligence Service (NIS), South Korea's top spy agency."There have been needless battles at the National Assembly for the past 15 years," said Kim Soo-min, a senior NIS official who participated in the government-ruling party meeting. "The anti-terrorism bills are designed to protect lives of the people and should not be the subject of a bargaining tool." The anti-terrorism bills have gained new momentum following the deadly attacks in Paris last year as the Saenuri Party and opposition parties agreed to begin discussions for the swift passage."Collecting infor

China pledges to join UN efforts to punish N. Korea

Yoon Soon-ku, right, director-general at the Ministry of National Defense’s international policy division, shakes hands with Chinese defense ministry’s Foreign Affairs Office Director Rear-Adm. Guan Youfei during working-level defense talks between the two countries in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, Friday. / YonhapBy Yi Whan-woo China has vowed to join the U.N. Security Council’s (UNSC) efforts to take tougher sanctions against North Korea in response to Pyongyang’s latest nuclear test, the Ministry of National Defense said Friday.“China made clear that North Korea’s fourth nuclear test is in violation of the UNSC sanctions as well as the Sept. 19 Joint Statement on Pyongyang’s nuclear program,” said Director-General Yoon Soon-ku at the defense ministry’s International Policy Division. “And it will join the UNSC to press the North.”The announcement came after working-level defense talks between South Korea and China in Seoul, Friday.Yoon led the South Korean delegation while the Chinese side was headed by Rear-Adm. Guan Youf

NK nuke test reignites debate over THAAD

 By Yi Whan-wooPresident Park Geun-hye has reignited the debate over whether South Korea should agree to allow the U.S. to deploy its terminal high altitude area defense (THAAD) system here to intercept nuclear-capable missiles fired by North Korea.In a New Year’s address, Wednesday, Park said the government will start reviewing whether to deploy THAAD for “security and national interests” as a countermeasure to the North’s latest nuclear test.China raised deep concerns about Park’s comments, while voices are growing in the United States for an early deployment of the advanced missile defense system in its allies.Debate is heating up here as well.Some opposition lawmakers have shown support for THAAD deployment.Concerned about provoking North Korea and China, opposition lawmakers had previously been against deploying THAAD.However, Rep. Lee Seok-hyun of the main opposition Minjoo Party of Korea (MPK) said Thursday, “The best counter-measure against Pyongyang’s nuclear threats would be deploying THAAD.”Lee also serves as the Nationa

Breaking China urges restraint over US deployment of B-52 bomber

Seoul, US target cash flow to N. Korean leader

North Korean leader Kim Jong-unBy Yi Whan-wooSouth Korea and the United States are seeking to cut off a flow of cash to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un which is used to prop up his regime, according to Cheong Wa Dae sources, Sunday.The sources said that Seoul is considering joining Washington’s efforts to freeze Kim’s overseas financial assets and scale up economic sanctions against Pyongyang in retaliation against its fourth nuclear test last Wednesday.The allies are also pressuring China to ban its oil exports to North Korea, which is heavily reliant on fuel from China to maintain its heavily armed forces.“South Korea and the U.S. are pushing to employ all possible means to take relevant measures that can effectively bring pain to North Korea,” a Cheong Wa Dae official said.The move comes in addition to steps taken by the U.N. Security Council (UNSC) to adopt a new resolution against North Korea for carrying out the nuclear test following previous tests conducted in 2006, 2009 and 2013.Speculation is that China, a permanent member of the UNSC and one of Nort