South Korea - The Korea Times

Production of K2 tank to start soon

By Jung Sung-ki The production of the homegrown K2 Black Panther main battle tank will begin soon after a one-year delay due to a problem with the tank’s “power pack” transmission system, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) said Monday. A set of field tests have shown that the domestically-built power pack, which is comprised of a 1,500-horsepower, 12-cylinder diesel engine and transmission, is now good to go, a DAPA official said. “We’ve been informed that all the minor glitches of the K2 power pack have been taken care of and now there are no problems,” the official said. “We’ll sign a production deal with manufacturers concerned as soon as possible.” The advanced battle tank will be operational for use by the Army by the end of next year at the earliest, he said. Originally, the production of some 390 K2 tanks was scheduled to begin early this year to replace the Army’s K1 tanks and its aging M48 Patton tanks. Unveiled in 2007, the K2, developed by the state-funded Agency for Defense Development and Hyundai Rotem, is a major defense product

Nov 1, 2010

USFK chief visits site where father fought

By Jung Sung-ki & Joint press corps YANGGU, Gangwon Province ― As the top U.S. commander defending South Korea, Gen. Walter Sharp, commanding general of the ROK-U.S. Combined Forces Command (CFC), usually maintains a firm and determined manner in meetings or before troops. On Friday, however, the four-star general looked more emotional than at other times, as he was visiting a mountainous area that was the site where his father, the late Earl Sharp, had fought during the Korean War. General Sharp made his first visit to the area, nicknamed Punchbowl, in Yanggu of Gangwon Province, which was the site of some of the bloodiest fighting during the 1950-53 Korean War, at the invitation of Lt. Gen. Lee Sung-ho, commander of the Third ROK Army Corps. Deputy CFC Commander Gen. Jung Seung-jo accompanied Sharp. Sharp stopped first at a South Korean military observatory at Gachil peak, located above the Punchbowl site, an extinct volcanic crater now used for farming cabbage and ginseng. Then he flew to nearby Bloody Ridge, the site of one of the fiercest battles of the fratricidal

Oct 31, 2010

S. Korea, US will resume exercise: USFK

By Jung Sung-ki South Korea and the United States will stage a new round of joint exercises designed to send a deterrent message to North Korea in the near future, the top American commander in Seoul said, despite China’s complaints about such drills. The exercise will involve a U.S. aircraft carrier, Gen. Walter Sharp, commander of U.S. Forces Korea and Combined Forces Command, hinted. Sharp also rebutted a controversial remark by a top Chinese official that the Korean War was provoked by a South Korean invasion. Sharp expected the next exercise, which was temporarily postponed due to scheduling problems, will be rescheduled in the “not-too-distant” future, according to a Pentagon Channel news program. “Over the remainder of this year and into the future, we are going to continue with a series of exercises that looks very directly at how we can strengthen the alliance based on what we see going on in North Korea,” Sharp said. Last week, a South Korean news agency reported that the third exercise, which tentatively had been slated for late October, was shelved to

Oct 27, 2010

Military seeks combat boots of higher quality

By Jung Sung-ki The Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) plans to open bidding for supplying the military with higher quality combat boots, the agency announced Monday in a news release. Previously, only 11 shoemakers designated by the government were allowed to supply the military with combat boots. The designation was intended to help facilitate the manufacturing of combat boots in the case of a military emergency. This kind of exclusivity with the private contracts has lowered the quality of combat boots, as the designated suppliers didn’t make proper efforts to improve the quality of the footwear for soldiers, the agency said. In August, the Ministry of National Defense launched an inspection of the quality of combat boots currently in use, following complaints that the heels of the boots easily separated. According to the results, a total of 5,201 boots supplied by five of the 11 designated makers were found to be defective in some way. “To solve the problems with private contracts, the DAPA will allow other competitive shoemakers to participat

Oct 25, 2010

KAI cries foul over selection of UAV maker

By Jung Sung-ki Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) has filed a complaint with the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) about the selection of the preferred bidder to develop a medium-altitude unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to be operated by division-level Army units. The complaint submitted Oct. 6 by state-owned KAI comes after the arms agency chose Korean Air’s Aerospace Division as the preferred bidder last month. KAI argues that some classified information on the company’s proposal for the “D-UAV” program were leaked to Korean Air because one of its subcontractors engaged in dual contracts with both competitors. KAI said it had signed an exclusive agreement with the subcontractor ― Samsung Thales (STC) Co. ― over the supply of the electro-optical (EO)/infrared (IR) sensor systems. KAI demands the DAPA cancel the selection of the D-UAV developer and is considering bringing a civil suit against STC. The DAPA and STC dismiss KAI’s claims. “The D-UAV bidding was not a competition among consortiums of companies,” a DAPA official said. “So there’s nothi

Oct 22, 2010

Activity detected at NK nuclear site

South Korea, US closely watch Pyongyang’s suspicious moves By Jung Sung-ki South Korea and the United States are closely watching for any suspicious movement at a North Korean nuclear site amid worries that the communist state is looking to conduct a third nuclear test in defiance of the international community, Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said Thursday. However, there has been no definitive indication that the North is preparing for another test following ones in 2006 and 2009, a JCS spokesman said. “At the moment, we have not noticed any evident signs that would lead us to believe North Korea is preparing to test a nuclear device,” the spokesman told reporters. Since the North’s last nuclear test in May last year, there has been consistent traffic of people and vehicles around Punggye-ri in the northern county of Gilju, the site of the country’s first nuclear test in October 2006, according to government sources. “For North Korea, Punggye-ri is a strategic location, and there is bound to be work done for maintenance,” said the spokesman. “South Korea a

Oct 21, 2010

Defense chief warns NK over provocation

By Jung Sung-ki North Korea’s attack on a South Korean warship in March posed a grave challenge and threat to the international order, the South’s defense chief said Tuesday. The frigate Cheonan was sunk in waters off the disputed sea border with the North, and a Seoul-led multinational investigation team concluded that the vessel was torpedoed by a North Korean submarine. “A military provocation like the Cheonan sinking not only threatens the security of South Korea but also the peace and security of the entire Asia-Pacific region,” Defense Minister Kim Tae-young said in his keynote speech at the Chiefs of Defense (CHOD) conference. “This is a very serious problem.” Top defense officials from 27 countries in the Asia-Pacific region are participating in the five-day CHOD meeting at a Seoul hotel beginning Monday to discuss regional security issues and ways to enhance their military cooperation and exchanges. The international community should awaken Pyongyang to the stringency of the international order and guide the regime to take responsibility for its behavior, K

Oct 19, 2010

Troop mobilization for river project rapped

By Jung Sung-ki Lawmakers of the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) criticized the Ministry of National Defense Friday for deploying troops to help a controversial state project. In a parliamentary inspection, Rep. Park Jie-won, floor leader of the DP, said the troop mobilization for the so-called four-river restoration project is against the law. The legislator claimed soldiers could be deployed for disaster relief or other missions to protect the people and preserve the national interest, but not for a controversial project meeting public opposition. “The Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs has said that the mobilization of the Cheonggang unit saved one billion won in cost, but one billion won is just 0.044 percent of the 22 trillion won allocated for the project. Is that savings justify the soldiers being relocated for non-essential work? Park asked. Park called for deactivating the involved unit, dubbed Cheonggang. Defense Minister Kim Tae-young rebutted the claim. “Engineering troops are occasionally deployed for public works if the gove

Oct 15, 2010

S. Korea, US begin air defense exercise

By Jung Sung-ki South Korea and the United States kicked off a joint air force training exercise Friday to increase interoperability among the airmen of the two allies. About 50 fighter jets, including F-15Ks and KF-16s from South Korea as well as F-16 Fighting Falcons and KC-135 Stratotankers from the U.S., are participating in the eight-day drill, the South Korean Air Force said in a news release. More than 250 pilots from the allies will be mobilized for the drill, named "Max Thunder," to be staged over the western airspace of the Korean Peninsula, it said. "This air readiness exercise is aimed at allowing airmen to practice war-fighting skills in realistic combat situations," said the release. In particular, this year's exercise will focus on deterring and defeating a potential air strike from North Korea, following the March 26 sinking of the warship Cheonan blamed on the communist country, Air Force officials said. North Korea denies any responsibility in the sinking of the frigate that claimed the lives of 46 sailors. "Throughout the exercise, the allies'

Oct 15, 2010

Military investigating lawmaker for leaking secrets

By Jung Sung-ki The Defense Security Command (DSC) is investigating an opposition lawmaker for leaking military secrets regarding the sinking of the ship Cheonan in March. The move is sparking controversy over the legality of such a probe of whether lawmakers have the privilege of exemption from liability for his or her speech in the National Assembly. In an Oct. 4 National Assembly inspection of the JCS, Rep. Shin Hak-yong of the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) disclosed information on radio communications between sailors at the 2nd Fleet Command in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, the home port of the sunken Cheonan. The communications revealed that the 2nd Fleet Command had already detected suspected moves by North Korean submarines. The North Korean army had also been preparing for long-range artillery fire against the South, the intelligence revealed. But the command and the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) didn’t raise the alert level, the lawmaker claimed. “It’s against the law to investigate a lawmaker who pointed out serious problems with defense readin

Oct 11, 2010

Defense

Defense

Production of K2 tank to start soon

USFK chief visits site where father fought

S. Korea, US will resume exercise: USFK

Military seeks combat boots of higher quality

KAI cries foul over selection of UAV maker

Activity detected at NK nuclear site

Defense chief warns NK over provocation

Troop mobilization for river project rapped

S. Korea, US begin air defense exercise

Military investigating lawmaker for leaking secrets

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