South Korea - The Korea Times

Nearly 6,000 men abroad exempted from military duty

By Yi Whan-wooAn average of 5,856 Korean men were exempted from compulsory military service each year from 2010 to 2014 after obtaining permanent residency in foreign countries, data showed Monday.The data, released by Rep. Ahn Gyu-baek of the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD), showed the number of those Korean nationals stood at 6,527 in 2010, 6,824 in 2011, 5,459 in 2012, 5,254 in 2013 and 5,220 last year.They were legally freed from serving in the military because they reached the age of 37 after delaying conscription routinely while living abroad, according to the Military Manpower Administration (MMA). The conscription agency complied and submitted the data to Ahn, also a member the National Assembly’s National Defense Committee, for the ongoing parliamentary audit session.Under the MMA regulations, Korean male citizens who are 25 or older and have permanent resident status abroad can be exempted from military duty if through postponing their service they reach 37.The issue over being exempted from or dodging military service, which often involves

Sep 14, 2015By Yi Whan-woo

North Korean test-fire could bring back loudspeaker broadcasts

 Test-firing a long-range missile or detonating a nuclear bomb by the North would upset relations between the two Koreas such that the South might resume its loudspeaker broadcasts, directed at North Korean soldiers and civilians near the DMZ, Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) chairman, General Choi Yoon-hee, said Friday. "We will not consider a nuclear test or long-range missile launch as a normal situation," General Choi said during a parliamentary audit, strongly indicating that Seoul will resume its propaganda broadcasts should the North carry out either of these tests. After the two Koreas struck the breakthrough deal to defuse the sharply escalating tension last month, Seoul agreed to stop its broadcasts critical of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in return for Pyongyang expressing "regret" for wounding two South Korean soldiers. While out on patrol, the soldiers stepped on shoe bombs planted by the North in the South’s sector of the DMZ. The South agreed to stop the broadcasts "unless an abnormal situation occurs," implying that South Korea would resume the

Sep 12, 2015By Bahk Eun-ji

S. Korea mulls test-launch of ballistic missile under development

South Korea is considering test-launching a ballistic missile with a range of 800 kilometers, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said Friday. The JCS unveiled the plan to test the missile the military is developing to guard against North Korea's increasing missile threats. “We are reviewing the plan to launch the missile into international waters south of the Korean Air Defense Identification Zone (KADIZ) off the submerged rock of Ieodo,” Maj. Gen. Yang Byung-hee of the JCS said during a parliamentary audit in response to a query from Rep. Kim Kwang-Jin of the New Politics for Democracy party, who asked the general: “Do we have space to launch an 800 km-range missile?” This is the first time the military has ever requested to test-launch a ballistic missile, which it has been developing to cope with North Korea's advancing nuclear and missile capacities. The request indicates the military is close to completing its development of a ballistic missile. 

Sep 12, 2015By Bahk Eun-ji

Defense budget focuses on deterring NK provocations

By Jun Ji-hyeA total of 38.9 trillion won ($3.2 billion) was earmarked for next year’s national defense budget, up 4 percent from 2015.Most of the additional spending is to improve the nation’s defense capacity to better deter threats from North Korea. A total of 11.6 trillion won was allocated for that purpose, up 6.1 percent from this year, according to the defense ministry.Of that, 3.2 trillion won was earmarked for strengthening military power in the border area, up 40.6 percent. That sharp increase was apparently due to the recent landmine attack by North Korea in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ).The money will be used to upgrade AN/TPQ-36 mobile radars capable of detecting projectiles launched at any angle, very-high-altitude unmanned aerial vehicles (HUAV), K-9 self-propelled howitzers, K-2 tanks and multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS) for counter-fire missions against the North’s multiple rocket systems.Days after three North Korean-made wooden box landmines exploded in the South-controlled area of the DMZ on Aug. 4, maiming two South Korean soldiers, Defense

Sep 9, 2015By Jun Ji-hye

Airbus picked as preferred bidder

Col. Kim Si-cheol, the spokesman of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), announces the winner of the Air Force’s program to purchase four aerial refueling tankers during a briefing at the defense ministry in Seoul, Tuesday. / YonhapBy Jun Ji-hyeEurope’s Airbus has been selected as a winner over its U.S. rival Boeing for the Air Force’s 1.4 trillion won ($1.3 billion) project to buy four in-flight refueling tankers, the defense acquisition agency announced Tuesday.The Defense Acquisition Program Executive Committee at the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) made the decision in a meeting presided over by Defense Minister Han Min-koo.The three candidates were Airbus Defence & Space’s A330 MRTT (Multi Role Tanker Transport); Boeing’s KC-46: and Israel Aerospace Industries’ KC-767 MMTT (Multi Mission Tanker Transport).“DAPA has conducted a fair and transparent evaluation with a 19-member expert group composed of analysts, professors and lawyers,” DAPA spokesman Col. Kim Si-cheol told a briefing. “Ai

Jun 30, 2015

Defense chief calls 2nd Yeonpyeong Naval Battle victorious

Ruling Saenuri Party Chairman Kim Moo-sung, left, speaks to his main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy counterpart Moon Jae-in at the 13th anniversary of the Yeonpyeong Naval Battle at the Navy’s 2nd Fleet headquarters in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, Monday. / YonhapBy Yi Whan-wooDefense Minister Han Min-koo said Monday that South Korea prevailed in the second Yeonpyeong Naval Battle, honoring the six fallen sailors who were killed in action during the inter-Korean maritime clash in June 29, 2002.“The second Yeonpyeong Naval Battle was the victorious battle in which our men fended off North Korea’s provocations,” Han said during a ceremony at the Navy’s 2nd Fleet headquarters to mark the 13th anniversary of the battle.It was the first time for a defense chief to deliver a tributary speech for the sailors who were killed during the bloody skirmish on the water off the South Korean border island of Yeonpyeong in the West Sea. Eighteen other South Korean sailors were wounded.He called out the name of each of the six dead sailors who were onbo

Jun 29, 2015By Yi Whan-woo

Defense chief to deliver speech for fallen sailors

Yeonpyeong Naval Battle anniversary slated for todayBy Yi Whan-wooHan Min-kooDefense MinisterDefense Minister Han Min-koo will attend a ceremony on Monday to mark the 13th anniversary of the second Yeongpyeong Naval Battle, the government said Sunday.The Ministry of Defense said Han will deliver a message in honor of the fallen South Korean sailors during a ceremony at the Navy’s 2nd Fleet headquarters in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province.This is the first time Seoul’s defense chief will offer such message since the naval clash between the two Koreas on June 29, 2002, according to the ministry. Six South Korean Navy sailors died and 18 were injured in a clash in the waters off the South Korean border island of Yeonpyeong in the West Sea.“The Navy organizes the ceremony and the defense minister does not necessarily need to deliver a tributary speech,” ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok said. “However, after thinking the issues over, he decided to honor the war dead in his own words.”Kim added Han will visit the graves of the six sailors at Daejeon National

Jun 28, 2015By Yi Whan-woo

Defense chief to deliver speech for fallen sailors

NK beefs up efforts to prevent defections by DMZ

By Yi Whan-wooNorth Korea is apparently strengthening efforts to prevent defections through the demilitarized zone (DMZ).According to sources, Sunday, more patrols have been seen along the border area during the past couple of months.They said the North’s soldiers are also laying more anti-personnel mines.The DMZ is a 4-kilomter-wide buffer along the 250-kilometer-long inter-Korean border.Defense Ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok admitted the move, saying that the ministry is verifying it.“We’ve been recently told that North Korea has been enhancing its activities on the DMZ, and that’s all we’ve got,” he said.According to the sources, North Korean sentries, in groups of up to 20, are seen on a patrol, sometimes checking border markers.Nearly 1,300 markers are spaced every 200 to 300 meters from each other.They said the new landmines have been placed in areas where its soldiers in the past frequently used as routes to flee to South Korea while they were on duty.“Under the order of its leader Kim Jong-un, North Korea has been putting all-out eff

Jun 14, 2015By Yi Whan-woo

U.S. believes North Korea has secret nuclear facilities

By Kim Hyo-jin North Korea is believed to be operating secret nuclear facilities in addition to Yongbyon Nuclear Complex, according to the U.S. State Department. There is a “clear likelihood” that Pyongyang is operating unreported nuclear facilities, the department said in its nonproliferation and disarmament report submitted to the Assembly on Saturday.The report said that Pyongyang resumed producing weapons-grade plutonium by restarting its five-megawatt graphite-moderated reactor, which was built in 2013. It is first time that the U.S administration has disclosed information about North Korea’s additional nuclear facilities. The Report on Adherence to and Compliance with Arms Control, Nonproliferation, and Disarmament Agreements and Commitments is published annually to monitor nuclear-related activities in relevant countries and assess their compliance with the 1968 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. North Korea joined the treaty in 1985. The State Department pointed out that last year’s nuclear developments in North Korea showed that the country had no

Jun 8, 2015

MERS puts US forces on alert

By Yi Whan-wooThe United States Forces Korea (USFK) said Thursday it will tighten health checks at its military bases to protect its service members from the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) virus.The move comes after a Korean chief master sergeant serving at the U.S. Air Force base in Osan, Gyoneggi Province, tested positive Wednesday for the deadly virus.USFK also said it will work with Korean health authorities to stay updated on the spread of the virus, adding it shares the same view with the 51st Fighter Wing about the situation.The 51st Fighter Wing, which is under the 7th U.S. Air Force, is stationed at Osan Air Base. It has about 10,000 U.S. military personnel, their family members and affiliated Korean workers.“Our hospital has established a plan to care for our population as well as screening those coming onto Osan,” it said in a Facebook message, Thursday. “We are also coordinating with Korean medical and public health officials to stay informed on their plans and progress.”The unit assessed that the Korean military took “prudent measur

Jun 4, 2015By Yi Whan-woo

MERS death toll rises; 1,600 quarantined

Defense