South Korea - The Korea Times

Exclusive 30% of Air Force bomb fuses may not work

By Jung Sung-ki The proportion of South Korean aircraft bombs to misfire remains high because about 90 percent of the fuses to detonate bombs were 40 years old and many of them have become obsolete, military sources said Tuesday. An Air Force source privy to inventory of aircraft bombs revealed that up to 30 percent of the fuse inventory of the South Korean Air Force could not be exploded properly in the case of an emergency. There is a concern that without the modernization of bomb technology, the effects of deploying up-to-date fighter jet platforms could be limited in the real world. “I can’t deny the fact that the current fuse inventory mostly comprising of the mechanical M-904/905 units is too old to work properly," the source told The Korea Times on condition of anonymity. “The current fuses inventory mostly comprising of the mechanical M-904/905 units is too old to use. They are 10 to 20 years past their due shelf life date.” The source, backed up by two active and retired officers, said on the basis of their own analysis and training run results that at least 20

May 3, 2011

Exclusive Vertical launching system for attack subs developed

By Jung Sung-ki Korea has developed a vertical launching system (VLS) to be installed on 3,000-ton heavy attack submarines to be deployed after 2018, according to a shipbuilding industry source, Monday. Hyundai Heavy Industries and Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering are subcontractors for the heavy attack submarines. It is the first time that the development of a submarine VLS in Korea has been confirmed. The Agency for Defense Development (ADD) has already developed one used aboard the 7,600-ton KDX-III Aegis destroyer. A VLS is a modern type of missile-firing system used aboard submarines and surface vessels of several navies around the world. When installed on an attack submarine, a VLS allows a greater number and variety of weapons to be deployed in comparison to using only torpedo tubes. Following the development of the VLS for subs, top shipbuilders in Korea and the ADD are also on track to develop an indigenous horizontal tube to launch torpedoes, cruise missiles and mines, the source said. “The development of a vertical launching system has alrea

May 2, 2011

Exclusive Korea set to endure bad terms for T-50 export to Indonesia

Jakarta asks Seoul to buy more planes, accept penalty write-offs By Jung Sung-ki Indonesia has asked South Korea to write off $20 million in penalties over the former’s delayed delivery of CN-235 transport aircraft in return for buying the T-50 Golden Eagle supersonic trainer jet, which can also be

Apr 5, 2011

Conspiracy theory on Lotte whodunit

By Jung Sung-ki A spy break-in of an Indonesian special envoy’s hotel room in Seoul last week made headlines here and abroad and cast doubts on a number of angles. On the operational side, the state spy agency, the National Intelligence Service (NIS), was rightly scorned. Its maneuvers to obtain information on Indonesia’s plans, including the potential purchase of T-50 Golden Eagle supersonic trainer aircraft, jointly developed by Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) and Lockheed Martin of the United States were amateurish. As for the political side, suspicion erupted about a test of authority between the NIS and the Defense Security Command (DSC), the military’s top intelligence-gathering branch. The two agencies have competed hard to gain up-to-date information about arms sales, which President Lee Myung-bak has called a new growth engine. Some political insiders and intelligence officials depicted the spy scandal as the results of a simmering power game in the NIS between those supporting NIS chief Won Se-hoon and a group allegedly under the command of President Lee’s elde

Feb 24, 2011

KoreaToday Is it fair to pay draftees less than $100 a month?

By Lee Tae-hoon One of the most touted phrases among Koreans in the past six months has been a “fair society,” a catchphrase that President Lee Myung-bak came up with as he marked the second half of his five-year tenure last year. Unfortunately the slogan carries little credibility with the nation’s compulsory military service from which President Lee himself as well as Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik, ruling party leader Ahn Sang-soo and a host of other prominent figures were exempted. “Korea’s draft program is unfair as it unilaterally and unconditionally demands healthy young males to give up their studies or career for two years, putting them at a disadvantage in competing with their rivals across the world,” an enlistee said asking for anonymity because he is not allowed to speak to the press. Korea has emerged as the world’s seventh largest exporter and 14th largest economy, yet the average monthly wage of those enlisted lingers below 100,000 won ($81.3), or roughly one tenth of the nation’s minimum wage. The government ev

Feb 23, 2011

Indonesian military secrets stolen in Seoul

By Jung Sung-ki Three thieves broke into a VIP hotel room of a high-level Indonesian delegation in Seoul earlier this week, allegedly to steal classified information on defense cooperation programs between Seoul and Jakarta, a local broadcaster reported Friday. Citing sources at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and police officials, SBS reported the trespassers _ two men and one woman believed to be Asian _ downloaded confidential files from some delegates’ laptop computers to their USB memory sticks. The files contained top defense secrets, including Indonesia’s potential purchase of South Korea’s T-50, it said. Police presumes the thieves could be members of an international arms agent or professional spies. The Indonesian government has not filed any complaint about the incident, according to the foreign ministry. Scores of Indonesian government officials led by Hatta Rajasa, coordinating minister for economic affairs, arrived in Seoul Tuesday as presidential envoys. The visit followed an economic cooperation agreement that President Lee Myung-b

Feb 18, 2011

Exclusive Seoul to deploy Israeli guided missiles on Yeonpyeong in Feb.

Attack copters to be stationed on the island By Jung Sung-ki South Korea’s military plans to deploy Israeli-built precision-guided anti-tank missiles to Yeonpyeong Island next month near the western sea border with North Korea, a government source said Tuesday. The deployment of the GPS-guided “Spike” missile is part of efforts to help achieve an early fortification of Yeonpyeong and four other islands near the border ― Northern Limit Line (NLL) ― vulnerable to North Korean provocations, the source told The Korea Times. In its year-end report to President Lee Myung-bak last month, the Ministry of National Defense unveiled a plan to beef up the security of the five islands near the border including deployment of the missiles. The ministry said that it would create a West Sea defense command, comprising 12,000 troops from the three services, to that end. On top of that, the military has also decided to permanently deploy at least four AH-1S Cobra helicopters to Yeonpyeong in a bid to thwart North Korea’s possible maritime infiltration of the border islands. “The Cob

Jan 4, 2011

Seoul, Beijing to hold defense chiefs talks in Feb.

By Jung Sung-ki The defense ministers from South Korea and China will hold talks by February to discuss regional security issues, including North Korea’s attack on a South Korean island in the West Sea, a government official said Sunday. The talks in Beijing will come amid heightened tension on the peninsula in the wake of North Korea’s deadly shelling of Yeonpyeong Island last month. The attack killed four South Koreans. The incident also resulted in tense relations between Seoul and Beijing, as China was lukewarm in criticizing the North’s provocation while complaining about the South’s military drills near land and sea borders. “Working-level officials will meet in January to set the agenda for the talks between Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin and his Chinese counterpart Liang Guanglie,” the official was quoted by Yonhap as saying, adding the date of the meeting has not been set. The Ministry of National Defense issued a statement that both countries have yet to discuss details of the defense ministers’ talks. Seoul and Beijing have been discussing the matter

Dec 26, 2010

Korea-America friendship concert held

Top US commander stresses cultural ties with S. Korea By Jung Sung-ki A top American commander in Seoul said he is confident in the U.S.-ROK ability to thwart any further North Korean provocation. “We continue to train the ROK military and the ROK military conducts its own training in order to maintain its skills and in order to do the job to defend their own country,” Lt. Gen. John D. Johnson, commanding general of the 8th U.S. Army, said. “I’m absolutely confident that we’re prepared for whatever might come.” South Korean marines plan to hold a maritime live-fire exercise near Yeonpyeong Island Monday or Tuesday in a show of strength against North Korean provocations. Representatives from the United Nations Command will take part as observers. North Korea has threatened to retaliate against the planned drill. Johnson pledged efforts to boost cultural ties between the United States and South Korea in order to further strengthen the alliance of the two nations. He was attending the annual Korea-American Friendship Holiday Concert at the Seoul Performing Arts Cente

Dec 19, 2010

Pilots inattention resulted in jet crash

The fatal crash of an RF-4C surveillance aircraft last month was caused by the impairment of “selective attention” by the pilots, the Air Force said Friday. On Nov. 12, the two pilots of the aircraft were killed when the plane crashed into a mountain near Imsil, North Jeolla Province, during a routine training mission. Since then, an investigation team has probed the exact cause of the accident by reviewing a radar track chart, wreckage of the aircraft, audio messages and other data, the service said. “The investigation suggested that a pilot suffered from impairment of selective attention and failed to recognize the altitude, while the aircraft was flying a low-altitude mission to capture images of a target area,” an Air Force spokesman said. “The pilot appeared to have tried to recover but ultimately failed.” Selective attention is the focusing of one’s conscious awareness on a particular stimulus. For example, selective attention is attributed to many car accidents with drivers focusing on talking on a phone or holding a conversation with a passenger, resulting in m

Dec 17, 2010

Defense