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Defense

Military intelligence officers referred to prosecution for corruption

Five military intelligence officers were referred to the military prosecution for punishment on charges of paid sex, embezzlement and other wrongdoings that have been covered up for up to more than two years, the defense ministry said Tuesday.The Defense Security Command officers got away with internal disciplinary measures, such as transfers to field units, without facing formal charges as their agency did not refer the cases for investigation over concern its image could be tarnished. Four senior officials will be disciplined over the alleged cover-up, the ministry said.Minister Kim Kwan-jin also issued a verbal warning to the DSC commander, Lt. Gen. Bae Dek-sig.According to ministry investigators, a lieutenant colonel and a warrant officer were busted at a bar in June 2010 for allegedly paying for sex with hostesses. But they had their civilian friends lie to police and receive punishment on behalf of them. The DSC later learned from an internal audit what had actually happened but closed the case only by transferring the officers involved to their original field units, citing tha

Oct 30, 2012

Protracted negotiations delay Korea's massive fighter jet project

Korea's plan to purchase 60 advanced combat fighters is expected to roll over into next year as negotiations have dragged on, with the next government widely expected to complete the multi-billion dollar project after December's presidential election, according to procurement officials Monday. The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter by Lockheed Martin, the F-15 SE Silent Eagle by Boeing and the Eurofighter by Europe's multinational defense group EADS have been vying for the fighter jet purchase program that could worth up to 8.3 trillion won ($7.3 billion) since last year. Although the Defense Acquisition and Procurement Agency (DAPA) earlier announced that it would pick a successful bidder in October, it had been widely expected that the agency could not meet the proposed timeline considering protracted testing procedures.According to the DAPA officials, negotiations are currently under way to discuss contract terms and offset programs, which means that it would take more time to wrap up the bargaining and select a successful bidder. "The government just finished the third-round negotiations

Oct 29, 2012

Korea pushes to upgrade software of PAC-2 missile system

Korea's defense ministry said Monday it is considering upgrading the software of the Patriot Advanced Capability (PAC)-2 system to improve its accurasy so as to better cope with North Korean missile and nuclear threats.PAC-2s have been deployed to counter increasing threats from the North's low-flying, short and medium-range missiles, as part of Seoul's plan to build an independent theater missile defense shield, dubbed the Korean Air and Missile Defense (KAMD) network system.But calls for upgrading the system have arisen after a recent study showed the PAC-2 system's interception success rate remains below 40 percent. Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin also said last week that South Korea is considering upgrading the system to the more accurate PAC-3 system.The remark, however, raised suspicions Seoul may join the U.S. missile defense system.On Monday, Maj. Gen. Shin Won-sik, who is in charge of the ministry's policy, said the government is currently looking into the PAC-2 system's capability to decide whether to adopt the software system for the PAC-3 missiles, which would allow it to r

Oct 29, 2012

S. Korea moves to upgrade Patriot defense system

The South Korean military's Patriot Advanced Capability-2 (PAC-2) system has a success rate of less than 40 percent in intercepting ballistic missiles, government sources said Sunday.Due to the noticeable inefficiency in deterring North Korean missiles, the PAC-2 system can only be useful in intercepting airplanes, prompting the South's military to rush to introduce the more advanced PAC-3 system, said the sources.PAC-2 has been deployed to counter increasing threats from the North's low-flying, short- and medium-range missiles, as part of Seoul's plan to build an independent theater missile defense shield, dubbed the Korean Air and Missile defense (KAMD) network system."The Korea Institute for Defense Analyses and the Missile Defense Agency of the U.S. have just concluded a joint study on the KAMD and found that the PAC-2 system has an interception success rate of below 40 percent," said a ranking government official."A variety of simulations have concluded that in order to raise the interception rate to above 70 percent, the (South Korean) military has to move to the PAC-3 system."

Oct 28, 2012

Defense ministry denies possibility of Korea joining US missile defense

The defense ministry strongly denied Friday that Korea could participate in the U.S. missile defense system, saying the American system is "fundamentally different" from the Korean system. U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Wednesday after annual security talks with his Korean counterpart Kim Kwan-jin that Washington is still in consultations with Seoul over its future role in a regional missile defense system. That raised speculations Seoul could take part in the U.S. missile defense system or MD. "The MD system that the United States envisions is a multi-layered defense system, which is fundamentally different from the Korean type of missile defense system that is oriented to low-layer defense," a defense ministry official told reporters on condition of anonymity. "We cannot but build a low-layer defense system under operational situations on the Korean Peninsula. Therefore, building the KAMD (Korean Air and Missile Defense) means never participating in U.S. efforts to build a multi-layer defense system," the official said. Officials have said it makes no sense

Oct 26, 2012

S. Korea, US agree to set N. Korean nuclear deterrence policy by 2014

WASHINGTON (Yonhap) -- The defense chiefs of South Korea and the United States agreed Wednesday to identify specific types of nuclear threats by North Korea and map out joint deterrence strategies tailored to each threat type by 2014. South Korean Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin and his American counterpart, Leon Panetta, reached the agreement in the annual Security Consultative Meeting (SCM) at the Pentagon at a time of continued military threats from the communist North under its new leader, Kim Jong-un. "They reaffirmed that any North Korean aggression or military provocation is not to be tolerated and that the U.S. and the Republic of Korea would work shoulder-to-shoulder to demonstrate our combined resolve," the joint communique said, referring to South Korea's official name. "They also urged North Korea to cease all activities related to its nuclear program immediately, and to abandon all nuclear weapons and existing nuclear programs." In particular, they agreed to develop joint deterrence strategies tailored to specific types of threats posed by North Korea's missiles

Oct 25, 2012

Final unit of 'Peace Eye' early warning aircraft delivered to Air Force

A fourth and final unit of the early warning aircraft Peace Eye has been delivered to Korea's Air Force, the state arms procurement agency said Wednesday. The delivery marks the completion of a US$1.6 billion project launched in 2006 to buy four modified versions of the high-altitude surveillance aircraft from Boeing to strengthen South Korea's aerial surveillance capabilities against North Korea. The first two planes were delivered last year and the third in May. The last three units were assembled at Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI), a local aerospace firm, under Boeing's supervision. "With the completion of Peace Eye's deployment, we can now detect and watch about 1,000 flying objects at the same time at 360 degrees," an official at the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) said. "We are able to watch aerial and maritime targets anywhere over and around the Korean Peninsula, and can detect all low-altitude planes infiltrating through mountainous regions," the official said. (Yonhap)

Oct 24, 2012

Defense chief heads to Washington for annual security talks

Korea's defense chief departed for Washington Tuesday for annual talks with his U.S. counterpart expected to focus on mapping out joint defense strategies against North Korea following the recent extension of South Korea's ballistic missile range. Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin and U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta will hold the annual Security Consultative Meeting (SCM) in Washington on Wednesday to discuss how to handle threats from North Korea and maintain a close alliance for stability in the region, his ministry said. The meeting is expected to focus on how to prepare a joint defense posture under the revised missile guideline that allows Seoul to nearly triple the range of its ballistic missiles to 800 kilometers, a distance long enough to strike targets anywhere in North Korea. The two sides will also discuss ways to maintain their joint defense posture even after Seoul retakes wartime operational control (OPCON) over its troops from the U.S. in 2015. The Combined Forces Command, which has served as a control tower of the allies' military partnerships, will be dis

Oct 23, 2012

S. Korea, US set for defense ministerial talks

WASHINGTON (Yonhap) -- The top South Korean and U.S. defense officials will exchange views on far-reaching security issues when they meet here for annual talks this week, a Pentagon official said Monday. South Korean Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin is scheduled to arrive in Washington on Tuesday for the Security Consultative Meeting (SCM) with Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta. "As for the SCM, the agenda will include discussion of the alliance, the defense of the Republic of Korea, evolving security challenges, and North Korea," the Pentagon official said on the customary condition of anonymity. Kim and Panetta plan to hold a joint press conference on Wednesday after their talks, added the official. It would be their first meeting since a deal between the allies to allow Seoul to develop ballistic missiles with a range of up to 800 kilometers (500 miles) from the previous 300 km. A diplomatic source here said there could be some adjustment in joint defense plans due to the missile range agreement. The two sides are also expected to discuss how to cooperate on missile

Oct 23, 2012

Military on high alert after NK threats to strike border area

Korea's military is on high alert Monday after North Korea threatened to strike a border area if anti-Pyongyang activists fly propaganda leaflets from there into the communist nation later in the day. The Fighters for Free North Korea, a civic group composed of North Korean defectors, plan to send 200,000 leaflets by balloons from Imjingak near the Demilitarized Zone at 11 a.m despite drizzling rain, according to the event organizer, Park Sang-hak. It is not clear whether the activists will be able to hold the event as planned, as the military and police have banned civilian entry into Imjingak since 8:40 a.m., including tourists, residents and journalists. They will lift the restriction after the situation is deemed over, according to officials. On Friday, North Korea said its army will launch a "merciless military strike" if any move to drop leaflets is detected. South Korea's defense minister reacted swiftly, saying his military is prepared to "completely destroy" the origin of a North Korean attack if it occurs. "Our military units near Imjingak are maintaining r

Oct 22, 2012
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