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Defense

US military to bring in precision-guided 'Excalibur' shells

The U.S. military in Korea plans to bring in precision-guided "Excalibur" shells capable of striking artillery batteries in North Korea by the end of the year, a military source said Thursday. The U.S. 2nd Infantry Division and South Korea's Agency for Defense Development successfully conducted a test-firing of the Excalibur shell in May, the source said. The U.S. forces also plan to additionally deploy Patriot-3 missiles and ATACMS surface-to-surface missiles, the source said. GPS-guided Excalibur shells are fired from 155mm guns, such as the Paladin artillery system, and are considered good for striking artillery batteries behind mountains as it strikes targets vertically. North Korean artillery is a major threat to South Korea. In November 2010, the communist nation shelled the South's border island of Yeonpyeong near the tense Yellow Sea border between the two sides, killing four people, including two civilians. Other weapons the South Korean and U.S. militaries possess to cope with North Korean artillery threats include satellite-guided Joint Direct Attack Munitions

Oct 4, 2012

New Army chief of staff named

Gen. Cho Jung-hwan, the chief of the Army's Second Operational Command, was named South Korea's new Army chief of staff, the defense ministry announced Tuesday. Cho, 57, graduated from Korea Military Academy and served as commander of the 22nd Infantry Division, deputy Army chief of staff and other posts before rising to the Second Operational Command chief last year. Cho is believed to be the right person to take the lead in carrying out defense reform and building a stronger military as he is equipped with strategic leadership and expertise and is reform-minded, the ministry said. Lt. Gen. Kim Yo-hwan, the deputy Army chief of staff, was promoted to four-star rank to succeed Cho as Second Operational Command chief. Lt. Gen. Kwon Hyuk-soon, a Joint Chiefs of Staff official, was also promoted to four-star to take charge as chief of the Third Army, which is responsible for the defense of Gyeonggi Province surrounding Seoul. (Yonhap)

Oct 2, 2012

Navy searches East Sea following report of suspicious object

The Navy scoured waters off Korea's east coast following a citizen's report of an object that appeared to be a submarine, possibly from North Korea, but the search turned up nothing unusual, officials said. A 39-year-old tourist reported to authorities he saw a strange object emerging and then disappearing in waters some 500 meters away from Gyeongpodae beach in Gangneung, about 240 kilometers east of Seoul, around 6:20 a.m. while taking pictures of the sun rising. The Navy immediately sent an anti-submarine vessel, a PC-3 patrol aircraft and a Linx helicopter to search the area, but no unusual object was located and the operation was wrapped up around 11 a.m., a Joint Chiefs of Staff official said. The tourist reported an unidentified object in a picture taken with his mobile phone camera looked like a submarine, but a close examination of the photo concluded it is believed to be of a fishing boat, the official said. "We've determined that the shape of the object was different from that of a submarine," a military official said. "A boat can look like that if a photo is

Oct 2, 2012

3,500 servicemembers break barracks in last 5 years

Nearly 3,500 conscripted soldiers deserted their military units in the last five years, about 66 percent of them due to stress of barracks life, defense ministry data showed Saturday. A total of 3,469 servicemembers broke barracks between 2008 and the first half of this year, according to the ministry data submitted to Rep. Yoo Ki-june of the ruling Saenuri Party. The number of deserters has been at 700 levels a year after falling to 703 in 2009 from 1,011 in 2008. Of them, only six deserters left barracks with guns. Stress of barracks life was cited as the biggest reason for desertion with 2,281 cases or 65.7 percent, followed by financial problems with 24.1 percent, family matters with 4 percent and girlfriend issues with 3.4 percent, according to the data. Yu said the military should try to improve barracks culture and strengthen mental power of servicemembers. All able-bodied South Korean men between 18 and 38 must serve about two years in the armed forces, depending on their branch of service. South Korea remains technically at war with North Korea after the 1950-

Sep 29, 2012

UAE agrees to send soldiers for medical treatment to Korea

The United Arab Emirates has agreed to send members of its armed forces and their families for medical treatment to South Korea if they fall ill with cancer or other serious diseases, the defense ministry in Seoul said Friday. The deal, signed on Sept. 19 between the ministry and the UAE's military, is expected to generate about 800 billion won ($717 million) in revenues for South Korea annually as some 4,000 UAE patients are expected to visit for medical treatment a year. The agreement calls for the UAE to send servicepersons or their family members with cancer, diabetes, heart and other serious illnesses for treatment to six major hospitals in Seoul, including Seoul National University Hospital, Samsung Medical Center and Asan Medical Center. "We plan to strengthen medical cooperation between the militaries of the two countries, such as exchanging military medical personnel, establishing an internship program for UAE military doctors and organizing a joint seminar on military medical affairs," said Col. Kim Jung-pil, a ministry official. The two sides have developed clo

Sep 28, 2012

US gov't informs Congress of possible sale of attack copters to Korea

WASHINGTON (Yonhap) -- The United States government has formally notified Congress of a plan to seek the sale of 36 advanced attack helicopters to Korea. A deal under the Foreign Military Sales program, if sealed, would be worth up to $3.6 billion. In two separate notifications to Congress, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency at the Pentagon provided details of proposed sales of Boeing's AH-64D Apache Longbow Block III, or the Bell AH-1Z Cobra. South Korea is in the process of selecting a preferential bidder for the purchase of 36 attack helicopters. The two U.S. firms are in competition that also reportedly involves the Turkish Aerospace Industry T-129B. Seoul is scheduled to choose the winner as early as in November, defense sources said. The agency said an estimated cost for the supply of 36 Apache choppers is $3.6 billion as it includes fuselages, associated equipment, parts, training and logistical support. It put an estimated cost for 36 Cobra helicopters at $2.6 billion. Company officials, however, stressed the estimated costs are not fixed. "The

Sep 27, 2012

Navy hosts Asia-Pacific submarine conference

The Navy said Wednesday it is hosting an international conference on submarine operations for the first time. Officials from 19 submarine-operating nations, such as the United States, China, Russia and Britain, are attending the 12th Asia-Pacific Submarine Conference that got under way Wednesday in Busan and at the Jinhae naval base on the southern coast for a three-day run, the Navy said. Japan also sent a five-member delegation to the meeting, it said. It is the first time South Korea's Navy has hosted the conference aimed at discussing submarine operations, salvage techniques and international drills. (Yonhap)

Sep 26, 2012

Defense ministry seeks 5.1% increase in next year's budget

The defense ministry is seeking a 5.1 percent increase in its budget for next year mainly to expand welfare measures for service members, including an increase in wages, officials said Tuesday. The ministry has formulated a 34.6 trillion won ($30.9 billion) budget for 2013, up from this year's 33 trillion won, and plans to submit that proposal to the National Assembly on Tuesday of next week for approval, officials said. Of the total, 24.1 trillion won is set aside for troop maintenance, a 4.6 percent increase from this year's budget, and the remaining 10.5 trillion won is earmarked to improve defense capabilities, a 6.3 percent increase from this year, officials said. A main focus of next year's budget increase is on improving barracks life, officials said. The ministry plans to raise the monthly wage for conscripted service members, with the wage of corporals set at 112,100 won, up 14,600 won from this year, plus provide them with more socks, athletic shoes and other supplies, and set up more sports facilities. On the combat front, the ministry set aside 6.7 billion

Sep 25, 2012

Cabinet approves partial extension of troops in Afghanistan

The Cabinet approved a revised bill Tuesday to extend missions for some of its troops protecting aid workers in Afghanistan by one year, to the end of 2013. Some 150 Korean aid workers and police officers have been involved in a reconstruction mission in the northern Afghan city of Charikar since mid-2010, protected by some 350 troops of the Ashena unit stationed there. Under the revised bill, up to 70 combat troops will remain in the war-ravaged country to protect aid workers, collectively called the Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT), for another one-year term to the end of next year, while 289 members of the unit will be pulled out by the end of this year as scheduled. The move came after the Seoul government agreed to extend the PRT mission by one year to the end of next year. The remaining troops will operate in the northern Afghan province of Parwan and around the Korean Embassy in Kabul, according to the defense ministry. The Korean PRT base in Charikar came under a series of rocket attacks last year, but no injuries were reported. No such attacks have tak

Sep 25, 2012

Defense ministry, journalists' association sign accord on contingency coverage

Korea's defense ministry and the country's largest association of journalists signed a gentleman's agreement Monday on how military contingencies like North Korea's 2010 artillery attack on the South should be covered without compromising national security. The ministry and the Journalists Association of Korea have worked out the agreement in seven months of talks as the ministry sought cooperation from the press mainly to ensure that military secrets are spared from news reports on such contingencies. Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin and Park Jong-ryul, the head of the association, signed the accord. Under the agreement, the ministry promised to provide the press with correct and swift information and other necessary arrangements in the event of an emergency situation that can "gravely affect" national security. It also calls for the military to come up with safety measures for reporters and set up a press center near the scene of military operations, if necessary. The reporters' association agreed to take note of the fact that it may benefit the enemy to publish report

Sep 24, 2012
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