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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.

Activists send anti-North Korea leaflets

By Yi Whan-wooA group of activists sent anti-North Korea leaflets across the inter-Korean border, Sunday, despite Pyongyang’s threat to “retaliate” against such acts.The Fighters for Free North Korea (FFNK) consisting of North Korean defectors living in the South said they floated balloons containing some 200,000 leaflets from the border village of Paju, Gyeonggi Province.The leaflets carried messages that criticized the dictatorial Kim Jong-un regime for causing extreme poverty among the people while stressing the democratic South’s economic success, according to the FFNK.The group said it will continue to fly the leaflets until its people under the North is free.“We’ll send the messages of the truth ceaselessly regardless of threats and warnings from Pyongyang,” it said. “We’ll only stop if the North guarantees its people’s right to live as human beings.”The FFNK took action after North Korea warned Saturday it would take retaliatory measures for flying anti-Pyongyang leaflets.“Our military considers those leaf

Sep 21, 2014By Yi Whan-woo

NK developing submarine-launched ballistic missile: Seoul

South Korea's military confirmed Sunday it has detected signs of North Korea's development of a submarine-based ballistic missile launch system.In a report to an opposition lawmaker, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said there is an indication that the North is developing a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM)."There is no intelligence yet that North Korea has an SLBM in operation. But the possibility of a North Korean submarine equipped with an SLBM has been detected recently," the JCS said in the document submitted to Rep. Jin Sung-joon of the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy.South Korea and the U.S. are jointly scrutinizing the North's related move, added the JCS. A senior South Korean government source also said the South Korean and U.S. intelligence agencies spotted signs that the North has developed a ballistic missile launch tube. "A missile launch tube for submarine use has been spotted, which appears to have been developed at North Korea's submarine base," the source said on condition of anonymity.Chances are high that the North will test-fire a SLBM

Sep 14, 2014
NK developing submarine-launched ballistic missile: Seoul

Parcel with knife, threatening letter sent to defense chief

A parcel containing a knife, suspicious powder and a threatening letter has been sent to South Korea's defense chief, prompting authorities to launch a probe, the ministry said Friday.The package addressed to Defense Minister Han Min-koo contained a 32.8-centimeter kitchen knife and some 20 grams of white powder with a two-page letter, according to the ministry, noting that the suspicious powder was later found to be flour.The letter sent by the "International Peace Action Corps" reads, "Why are you bringing a fire cloud of a nuclear war to the Korean Peninsula by wagging your tongue?," according to the ministry."I've decided to punish him out of concern that just leaving you like this would kill the whole people," the letter said, warning to "get rid of" him and his family members. On one side of the knife, the sender wrote in a red pen, "Han Min-koo," and on the other side, "punishment," the ministry noted.A joint military-police investigation team confirmed that the parcel was sent via a delivery service at a convenience store in Eunpyeong, northwestern Seoul, with a male suspect

Sep 5, 2014
Parcel with knife, threatening letter sent to defense chief

Two special forces soldiers die during harsh 'captivity' training

The body of a solider is brought into a hospital in North Chungcheong Province after he died of apparent suffocation during harsh special forces training. / YonhapTwo noncommissioned officers in the special forces have died of apparent suffocation and another has been injured during harsh training, military officers said Wednesday.The accident took place late Tuesday in a unit of the Special Warfare Command in the central town of Jeungpyeong, some 126 kilometers south of Seoul, when the staff sergeants, identified only by their family names, Lee and Cho, collapsed during a training exercise meant to help them survive captivity situations, according to the officers. They had spent more than an hour on their knees with their hands tied behind their backs wearing hoods over their faces during the training that was to let them experience the hardships they could suffer while being held captive.A hospital official said suffocation may be to blame for the deaths, though the exact cause has yet to be determined. He spoke on condition of anonymity, citing policy.The injured officer has recei

Sep 3, 2014
Two special forces soldiers die during harsh 'captivity' training

U.S. Navy seeks S. Korea's bigger role in ballistic missile defense

A top U.S. Navy official expressed hope Monday for more joint ballistic missile defense exercises with South Korea and Japan, citing the South Korean Navy's KDX-III Aegis destroyers."They can detect and track, and have proven it in our missile range in Hawaii, ballistic missiles," Adm. Jonathan Greenert, chief of naval operations said at a security forum here.South Korea is also working to acquire more advanced equipment to intercept ballistic missiles, he pointed out."Now, that closes a loop," the admiral said. "I mean, they could contribute today because A) they're skilled, and B) they have a great capability."He was emphasizing the importance of trilateral cooperation that aso involves Japan, especially in countering North Korea's missile threats.But there is a matter of historical issues between South Korea and Japan and the United States has been encouraging the two sides to get past that for regional security, said Greenert.He strongly hinted that the navies of three regional powers held a joint ballistic defense training as recently as in spring."We had an opportunity (for tha

May 20, 2014

Korea to upgrade missile defense system by 2020

By Kang Seung-wooThe nation's arms procurement agency said Monday that Korea will upgrade its patriot air defense system as part of efforts to boost the country’s capability to counter North Korea's ballistic missiles.In a Defense Acquisition Program Executive Committee meeting chaired by Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin it was decided to purchase up to 100 Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) missiles, while improving PAC-2 launcher modification kits as well as additional ground equipment.The upgrade will be carried out from 2016 to 2020.Currently, the military operates 48 PAC-2 missiles that were imported from Germany.The combat-proven PAC-3 missile is a high velocity "hit-to-kill" interceptor that destroys incoming ballistic and cruise missiles, and hostile aircraft by direct, body-to-body impact, according to Lockheed Martin, the missile manufacturer. The PAC-2 uses a blast-fragmentation warhead that sends debris from the exploded missile into the target.The PAC-3 system is seen as a core part of the country’s Korea Air and Missile Defense System (KAMDS) ― an indep

Apr 28, 2014By Kang Seung-woo

Korea exports 12 FA-50s to Philippines

 By Kang Seung-woo and Joint Press Corps Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) signed a $420 million (450 billion won) contract Friday to export a dozen FA-50 light attack aircraft to the Philippines.In a signing ceremony, Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin and Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) CEO Oh Young-ho inked the deal that will deliver the first batch of jets late next year. The delivery is expected to be completed by 2017.As the transaction is signed under a government-to-government deal, KOTRA participated in the signing on behalf of KAI because the agency is in charge of the Korean government’s commercial transactions.“The deal with the Philippines, following one with Iraq last year, is boosting confidence that Korea is competitive in the fighter market,” KAI CEO Ha Sung-yong said.With the deal, KAI has put the second Southeast Asian country on its customer list.It has sold 16 T-50 supersonic trainers to Indonesia, 40 KT-1 basic trainers to Turkey and 20 KT-1s to Peru. It also signed with Iraq to sell 24 FA-50s in December.KAI believes a

Mar 28, 2014
Korea exports 12 FA-50s to Philippines

N. Korea builds new high-speed infiltration boat

North Korea has been building a new high-speed, wave piercing craft to deploy them front-line troops as part of efforts enhance its infiltration capabilities through sea routes, a military source said Sunday.Pyongyang has been building a Very Slender Vessel (VSV), which can move over 100 kilometer per hour with a small number of special forces aboard. The cylindrical vessel is about 10-15 meters long with a small-cross section that can pierce straight through waves.The VSV is much faster than air-cushion vehicles deployed by North Korea, which can move at speeds of up to 96 km/h. The communist state has deployed about 70 air-cushion vehicles on its west coast and 60 of the amphibious vehicles in the east at its four hovercraft bases, according to a report by the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff."North Korea has been constructing the very slender vessel since last year to enhance its commandos' maritime infiltration capability," the source said, asking for anonymity. "This is believed to be ready for deployment."The ship was first spotted in satellite imagery last year when Pyongyan

Mar 23, 2014

N. Korea launches rockets for second straight day

North Korea fired 16 short-range rockets from its east coast early Sunday for a second straight day, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said, the latest in a series of provocative launches that are in apparent protest of ongoing joint military drills between Seoul and Washington.The North fired 30 FROG ground-to-ground rockets from the eastern city of Wonsan, the same test site, early Saturday, without making a pre-announcement for civilian flights or vessels.The North launched the same type of rockets over two times between 00:52 a.m. and 2:31 a.m. Sunday, which flew about 60 kilometers into the sea, according to the military."The military has maintained vigilance against additional launches," the JCS said.Pyongyang has fired a spate of Scud ballistic missiles and artillery using multiple rocket launchers from its east coast since late February, in apparent protest against ongoing South Korea-U.S. joint military drills. The communist-state claimed the launches were for the purpose of "self-defense."The two-week war game Key Resolve ended in early March, while the two-month field traini

Mar 23, 2014
N. Korea launches rockets for second straight day

N. Korean leader inspects air force unit

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has visited an air force unit, the country's state media reported Friday, an inspection trip that also quelled speculation of any change in the political fate of one of his top aides.Kim was accompanied by nine officials, including Choe Ryong-hae, the director of the General Political Bureau of the Korean People's Army, the Korean Central News Agency said in a dispatch.The dispatch came more than two weeks after the North Korean military's top political officer disappeared from state media reports, putting an end to rampant speculation that he may have been either arrested or taken into custody.Kim's inspection trips, which are accompanied by top officials, offer a rare glimpse of the rise and fall of his aides.In 2012, Kim's once-powerful uncle Jang Song-thaek accompanied the leader on 106 occasions, followed in a distant second by Choe with 85.A year later, Jang accompanied Kim on 52 occasions while Choe accompanied the leader on 153 occasions, according to South Korea's unification ministry which handles inter-Korean affairs.In December, Jang was ex

Mar 7, 2014
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