South Korea - The Korea Times

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

Growing border violations by NK alert Navy in western sea

The South Korean military has raised the alert status near the western sea border after a number of North Korean fishing boats were detected crossing the sea border near the crab-rich waters over the past week, a senior military official said Friday. The latest move comes as a growing number of North Korean boats have been seen fishing in waters south of the Northern Limit Line, the de facto maritime boundary between the two Koreas. Seven boats crossed the demarcation line twice on Sept. 12 and retreated after warning messages from South Korean patrol boats, and a group of two or three fishing boats repeatedly appeared near the NLL on Sept. 14, 15 and 20, the official said. He did not give the total number of North Korean ships detected by the South Korean military. "Our military is closely monitoring to figure out the intention of the North Korean boats' border crossings," the official said, asking anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue. "If North Korean boats repeatedly cross the NLL for fishing, the military will promptly and sternly respond, without hesitatio

Sep 21, 2012

Korea, Peru agree to expand naval cooperation

Korea and Peru agreed Thursday to expand exchanges and cooperation between their navies, including the South's provision of training necessary for the South American nation to better operate naval vessels expected to be built with Korean technologies, the Korean Navy said. The memorandum of understanding was signed between South Korea's Navy chief, Adm. Choi Yun-hee, and his visiting Peruvian counterpart Carlos Tejada at the South's naval academy on the southern coast city of Jinhae, the Navy said in a statement. The agreement calls for the Navy to provide training to help Peru better operate vessels the country is expected to build jointly with South Korea. In April, Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., a South Korean shipbuilder, signed an MOU with Peru's government to jointly build naval ships. The deal also calls for expanding broader exchanges and cooperation in various areas. "Peru is a brother country that provided emergency relief funds to help save the Republic of Korea out of crisis during the Korean War, and condemned North Korea's brutality at the tim

Sep 20, 2012

Korea, Peru sign deal to expand defense exchanges

Korea and Peru signed an agreement guaranteeing the quality of military products they export to each other in a deal expected to pave the way for expanding defense industry exchanges, Seoul's defense ministry said Wednesday. The Defense Agency for Technology and Quality signed the memorandum of understanding at Peru's defense ministry on Sept. 11 for the mutual guarantee of the quality of military equipment and defense services traded between the two countries, the defense ministry said in a release. The deal is a follow-up measure after Peruvian President Ollanta Humala visited Seoul in May for talks with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak to expand economic ties after a bilateral free trade agreement took effect in August last year. Seoul has been in talks with Peru since early last year to sell 20 KT-1 single-engine trainer jets worth about $200 million.(Yonhap)

Sep 19, 2012

Korea to hold multinational maritime drill against spread of WMD

Korea will host a multinational maritime drill aimed at intercepting weapons of mass destruction in its southern waters next week, the defense ministry said Tuesday. Korea, the United States, Japan and Australia will carry out the U.S.-led Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) exercise on Sept. 27 in waters 100 kilometers south of the southern port city of Busan, the ministry said. Seven warships and 11 aircraft from the four nations will participate in the exercise. Unlike the other three nations, however, a Japanese ship will not enter the Busan port, a senior official said, a decision believed to reflect the recent souring of relations between Seoul and Tokyo. Ties between South Korea and Japan have plunged to one of their lowest ebbs after South Korean President Lee Myung-bak made an unprecedented visit to the eastern islets of Dokdo last month. Japan claims the East Sea islets as its own. "Japan seems to be aware of the anti-Japan sentiment in South Korea over Dokdo," the official said, asking anonymity due to sensitivity of the issue. "It seems that a Japanese

Sep 18, 2012

S. Korea develops guided missile targeting NK's underground artillery bases

South Korea has developed a short-range ballistic missile aimed at destroying underground artillery bases in North Korea, a lawmaker of the parliamentary defense committee said Tuesday. The Joint Chiefs of Staff briefed committee members in a closed-door meeting Monday that the military has succeeded in developing the guided missile with a range of 100 kilometers and successfully conducted test-firing in May, according to a lawmaker who attended the briefing. The missile is designed to be fired from a multiple launch rocket system and uses a ground-based navigation system, which is resistant to GPS (global positioning system) jamming signals, to fly to targets. "The JCS briefed that it has succeeded in developing a guided-missile designed to destroy underground artillery bases and plans to enter into mass production," the lawmaker told Yonhap News by phone. According to another committee member, the JCS reported the missile's guiding system needs improvement, but other core technologies, such as the capabilities to penetrate underground bunkers and locate tunnel entranc

Sep 18, 2012

Korea develops indigenous tactical data link

Korea has developed its own tactical data link system to improve interoperability between its ground weapon systems, the state procurement agency said Monday. The state-run Agency for Defense Development (ADD) unveiled the Korean Variable Message Format (KVMF) after six years of research and development based on VMF already used in the U.S. Army, the Defense Acquisition and Procurement Agency (DAPA) said. VMF is designed as a common means of exchanging digital data across an interface that could be between combat units at varied organizational levels and applicable to a broad range of tactical communication systems. "The technology will be applied to 40 kinds of ground tactical weapon systems by 2014 to provide integrated combat capabilities for ground troops," Hwang Jae-joon, a senior researcher at the ADD, said.(Yonhap)

Sep 17, 2012

Ex-USFK commander warns against North's nuclear and missile threats

North Korea's Kim Jong-un may carry out a nuclear or missile test to bolster his leadership at home and abroad, a former chief of U.S. Forces Korea said Thursday, calling on Seoul to beef up its missile defense system to counter growing threats from the belligerent North. "(Kim) has made clear that he will continue to develop nuclear weapons capabilities and increase even more, and continue to develop ballistic missiles," Walter Sharp said at an interview with Yonhap News Agency during his visit to Seoul at the invitation of the Korea Retired Generals and Admirals Association. "If you look at history, especially in the last four or five years, the indication would be that there's probably more coming." Sharp, who served as the Combined Forces Command chief from 2008-2011, urged the young leader to take a different path from his father, Kim Jong-il, to become a member of the international community, saying the communist state has not made substantive changes despite signs of economic reforms to develop the moribund economy and raise living standards. The retired general, who

Sep 13, 2012

Korea, US mull regular cyber warfare drills

Korea and the United States are pushing to hold regular joint exercises and train professionals to guard against growing threats of cyber attack from North Korea, a senior Seoul official said Wednesday. Concerns over cyber attacks on military infrastructure and government and communications systems have mounted as Seoul believes Pyongyang was behind the jamming of GPS signals on civilian flights and commercial ships earlier this year and the hacking of government Web sites and banking systems in the last couple of years. In defense talks that run from Wednesday through Thursday, senior military officials of the two sides will coordinate the agenda for next month's defense ministerial meeting and formulate concrete steps to deal with threats of cyber attacks and North Korea's nuclear and missile programs, a Korean official said. "Joint training for cyber warfare and the training of professionals can be discussed as a means to prepare against cyber threats," a senior official said, asking for anonymity as the talks were still under way. "We will also discuss measures that c

Sep 12, 2012

N. Korea extends Arirang festival by 18 days

North Korea has extended its annual "Arirang Show" dance and gymnastics performance by another 18 days, a Chinese tourist agency said. The show, named after a famous Korean folk song, features tens of thousands of young gymnasts performing synchronized acrobatics, dance routines and flip-card mosaic animations, in what is believed to be the largest gymnastics show in the world. This year's show will end on Sept. 27, later than its previously scheduled date of Sept. 9, according to Koryo Tours in Beijing, the agency specializing in tours to North Korea. "But it's not unusual because the show has been prolonged every year." The extension may aim to increase the North's opportunities for foreign currency income from the show frequently viewed by foreign tourists, experts said. (Yonhap)