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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.

Korea to start development of heavyweight torpedo

Korea will start developing heavyweight submarine-launched torpedoes to improve the Navy's capability for long-range attacks on enemy ships and submarines, the state procurement agency said Wednesday. The Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) said it approved the 70 billion won ($61.3 million) for the heavyweight torpedo development and two other missile-related projects in a meeting hosted by Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin. The DAPA said it will open bids for the torpedo project next month, review proposals in October and start development in December. The heavyweight torpedo project, the fourth of its kind in the nation, will be completed by 2017, the agency said. In the meeting, the state agency also picked three preferred bidders for a project to upgrade a mid-range surface-to-air missile to make it capable of evading ballistic missiles. The development of the Cheolmae-2 missile, a simplified version of Russia's S-400 designed for use against aircraft and ships, was completed in December last year after five years of production. The state agency said it

Jul 18, 2012

Exclusive Hasty copter project in doubt

By Lee Tae-hoon A lawmaker said Wednesday that the Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) will be awarded a chopper deal worth 6 trillion won ($5.292 billion), the country’s biggest arms deal ever for a local company, despite its failure to fully address safety concerns. The Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) plans to place the multibillion-dollar-order in December this year, according to Rep. Shin Hak-yong of the main opposition Democratic United Party. “DAPA must not make a hasty decision. It should consider delaying the order until all necessary tests and evaluations are completed,” the three term lawmaker said. He stressed that the incumbent administration is pushing to conclude more than $15 billion worth of arms purchase deals by the end of the year without proper assessment of the projects.

Jul 18, 2012

N. Korea's army chief Ri Yong-ho relieved of all posts

North Korea said Monday that its military chief Ri Yong-ho, known as one of the closest confidants of leader Kim Jong-un, has been removed from all his posts because of his "illness." "A meeting of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party decided to relieve Ri Yong-ho of all his posts for his illness," the North's Korean Central News Agency said in a brief dispatch from Pyongyang. The media said Lee was dismissed in the party's Sunday meeting as a member of the Presidium of the Political Bureau, a member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the party and a vice-chairman of the party's Central Military Commission. But the KCNA did not elaborate on whether Ri also lost his position as the army's chief of the General Staff or whether a successor has been selected for the outgoing official. The 70-year-old Ri, who rose to the ranking positions in the Kim Jong-un regime, was previously known as a key figure who helped Kim seize control of the military following the death of his father and former North Korean leader Kim Jong-il last De

Jul 16, 2012

Korea mulls partial withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan

Korea is considering withdrawing at least some of its troops protecting aid workers in Afghanistan starting as early as next year, government officials said Thursday. One official said the mission for the unit, called "Ashena," will be over at the end of this year, and other nations are also set to withdraw their forces from the war-ravaged country. "We're looking into ways to pull out Ashena forces over several phases," the official said. Another government official said some troops will still be necessary to protect aid workers, who are collectively called the Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT). "We will make the final call on the withdrawal after a further review of the local situation and other nations' moves," the second official said. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization plans to pull out its International Security Assistance Force based in Afghanistan by the end of 2014. The Korean PRT was launched in July 2010 and is set to stay in Afghanistan until 2014. About 100 aid workers are based in the northern Afghan city of Charikar and on the U.S. military bas

Jul 12, 2012

Exclusive Indigenous chopper plan gets green light

By Lee Tae-hoon Despite some technical shortcomings, Korea has given the green light for the production of Surion utility helicopters ㅡ the nation’s first locally developed rotary-wing aircraft ㅡ for the military, officials said Sunday. “Noh Dae-lae, commissioner of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), signed the approval for Surion helicopters on June 28, while pointing out areas of concern that need to be addressed,” DAPA spokesman Baek Youn-hyeong said. Noh concluded that development and operational tests of the Surion helicopter demonstrated that the indigenous rotary-wing aircraft is suitable for military operations, although further performance tests are desired, the spokesman said. The Surion project, also known as the Korea Utility Helicopter (KUH) program, is the country’s single biggest military purchase plan ever from a local contractor, the Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI). The military, which has spent some 1.3 trillion won ($1.13 billion) for the KAI to develop the country’s first chopper over the past five years, plans to introduce ab

Jul 1, 2012

Korea postpones signing controversial military pact with Japan

Korea announced Friday it is holding off on signing a controversial military pact with Japan following strong backlash from political circles and the public over the sensitivity of entering into a military agreement with its former colonial ruler. The announcement came less than an hour before the two nations were scheduled to sign the deal in Tokyo, after Korea's ruling Saenuri Party urged the government to put off the signing and discuss the issue with the National Assembly. Foreign Ministry spokesman Cho Byung-jae told reporters the government agreed to the party's request and is in talks with the Japanese government over the next steps. "With regards to the South Korea-Japan General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA), which was due to be signed at 4 p.m., (the government) decided to discuss the matter with the 19th National Assembly and then push ahead with the signing," Cho said. That decision came after the ruling and opposition parties agreed earlier in the day to hold an inaugural session of the new parliament next Monday, the spokesman said. The

Jun 29, 2012

Operational requirements could be tested on simulators in fighter jet purchase: sources

Evaluation of key operational requirements to select a supplier for Korea's next-generation combat fighter could be done on simulators, sources said Wednesday, after a foreign bidder recently balked at proposed actual flight testing. According to sources, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), the state arms procurement body, had planned to carry out flight tests on some 260 categories of operational requirements for the fighter project. Boeing's F-15 SE, Lockheed's F-35A and EADS Eurofighter are competing to win a mega deal worth upward of 8.3 trillion won (US$7.2 billion) to sell 60 combat fighters to South Korea, which is expected to choose a supplier later this year. Sources said Lockheed Martin recently refused to undergo flight tests, on the grounds that F-35A is still under development and only American pilots can fly the aircraft. Boeing and EADS have accepted the flight test proposal. The planned on-site performance tests would have lasted a week, testing whether the given jet can operate under different conditions. The DAPA had sought flight tests i

Jun 28, 2012

Korea, Japan to sign military accord on intelligence exchange: source

Korea and Japan are poised to sign a military agreement that will allow them to exchange key military intelligence, a government source here said Wednesday. The source said the two countries will soon reach the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA). "The two governments will officially sign the deal as early as this week, or sometime next week at the latest," the source said, adding Korea passed the bill on reaching the GSOMIA at its Cabinet meeting on Tuesday. The foreign ministries of the two countries will be the signatories. Under the GSOMIA, Seoul and Tokyo will share intelligence on North Korea's nuclear and weapons of mass destruction (WMD) programs. South Korea had earlier put off discussions on the GSOMIA signing, given strained ties with Japan over the latter's territorial claims to the Dokdo islets. But it changed course following North Korea's long-range missile launch in April, which, according to a South Korean government official, increased the need for Seoul to share North Korean intelligence with Tokyo. "Japan has a lot of intelli

Jun 27, 2012

Navy investigating accidental discharge of torpedo in Yellow Sea

The Navy said Wednesday it is investigating a recent accidental discharge of a torpedo from a frigate during an exercise in the Yellow Sea. According to the Navy, a 2,300-ton frigate called Cheongju accidentally fired a deactivated torpedo during a drill in waters off Taean, South Chungcheong Province, last Thursday. The Navy said the torpedo didn't explode and sank to the bottom of the water. "We believe there was some malfunctioning to the hydraulic system," a Navy official said. "We're looking for the exact cause of the case." The torpedo was the homegrown anti-submarine missile named the Cheongsangeo, or Blue Shark. About 2.7 meters long and weighing 280 kilograms, it can travel at up to 45 knots, or 83 kilometers per hour. In December 2009, another Blue Shark torpedo was accidentally fired during an anti-submarine exercise. (Yonhap)

Jun 27, 2012

Navy to build new base on Yellow Sea border island

he Navy will build a new advance base on a tense border island in the Yellow Sea to bolster naval defense in the area and protect local residents, officials said Tuesday. Officials said the city of Incheon recently approved a project to construct the naval base on Baengnyeong Island, located just south of the western maritime border with North Korea. The island falls under the jurisdiction of the metropolitan city. The new base will cover nearly 24,000 square meters of reclaimed land. The Navy had asked for the city's green light on the project in November last year. The plan includes construction of docks for naval vessels and other on-ground facilities. The Defense Installations Agency, under the defense ministry, will oversee the construction work, which is scheduled to start at the end of this month and finish by late 2014 on a budget of 42.5 billion won ($36.6 million). According to officials, the new base and its barracks will be able to accommodate a squadron-sized unit with up to 100 troops. Baengnyeong Island lies just south of the Northern Limit Line (NLL), a

Jun 26, 2012
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