South Korea - The Korea Times

Exclusive 1st Early Warning Aircraft Arrives in S. Korea

By Jung Sung-ki Staff Reporter The first of four 737 airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft built by Boeing Integrated Defense System (IDS) has arrived in South Korea. Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) accepted the first "E-737" airplane for modifications Tuesday, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) said. A ceremony to mark the beginning of the modification work was held at KAI's facility in Sacheon, South Gyeongsang Province, with representatives from DAPA, KAI and Boeing attending, it said. KAI will equip the plane with Northrop Grumman’s L-band Multi-Role Electronically Scanned Array (MESA) radar before handing it over to the Air Force next year. The modification work is part of offset deals from the AEW&C contract signed in 2006. Under the $1.6 billion contract, Boeing IDS will deliver four 737 AEW&C aircraft to South Korea by 2012 when the nation will take over wartime operational control of their troops from the U.S. military. The 737 AEW&C can fly at a maximum altitude of 41,000 feet and top speed of 340 knots. gallantj

Feb 9, 2010

S. Korea, US May Hold Joint Drill for NK Contingency

By Jung Sung-ki Staff Reporter South Korea is considering holding a joint military exercise with the United States to mimic coping with all possible contingencies that could occur in North Korea, a report said Friday. The U.S. government recently proposed the idea to South Korea as North Korean leader Kim Jong-il is reportedly suffering from illnesses and the economic situation in the communist state is worsening, according to the Chosun Ilbo newspaper. But the Ministry of National Defense denied the report. ``The U.S. hasn't made any such proposal. Neither have we considered such a military drill,'' a ministry spokesman said, asking not to be named. South Korea and the United States have successfully been developing an operational plan, codenamed OPLAN-5029, to respond to any type of internal instability in North Korea, according to informed sources. U.S. Gen. Walter Sharp, commander of the ROK-U.S. Combined Forces Command (CFC), confirmed the move last year. Speaking at a seminar here Oct. 30, the four-star general, who concurrently serves as chief of the U

Feb 5, 2010

S. Korea Offers Aircraft to Peru

By Jung Sung-ki Staff Reporter Peru will take over South Korea's A-37 Dragonfly light attack aircraft Friday (Korean standard time) in a ceremony at an air force base near its capital of Lima, the Ministry of National Defense here said. The donation will lay the foundation for Korea to make inroads into the South American market, ministry sources said. Last year, South Korea offered eight A-37 jets to Peru for free as part of efforts to improve bilateral ties and defense cooperation. The two nations established diplomatic ties in 1963. The ceremony will be presided over by Peru's Defense Minister Rafael Rey. Kim Ju-won, head of the South Korean defense ministry's arms and resources maintenance bureau, will attend the ceremony. Kim will meet with the Peruvian Air Force chief of staff and other officials to discuss ways of increasing defense ties between the two countries, the ministry said in a news release. Kim will ask Peru to cooperate with South Korean defense companies as the South American nation is seeking to modernize its armed forces, it said. Peru

Feb 4, 2010

NK Designates 2 More Firing Zones

By Jung Sung-ki Staff Reporter North Korea has designated two more "firing zones" near the western sea border with South Korea, defense officials said Wednesday. The move raised the prospect of more artillery fire in the West Sea, following days of shelling last week, they said. The two areas near the South Korean islands of Baengnyeong and Daecheong would be established as firing zones for four days from Friday, the officials said. "The North may undertake further provocation," an official at the Joint Chiefs of Staff said. "Our military is closely watching for possible artillery fire off the western sea border." As part of a regular military drill, North Korea last week declared two areas near the Northern Limit Line (NLL), the de facto maritime border, in the West Sea as naval firing zones from Jan. 25 to 29. The North fired some 350 artillery shells into the waters north of the NLL during the period. The North also declared five additional "no-sail" zones over the weekend. The communist state earlier announced that the military exercises would end on Ma

Feb 3, 2010

Army Chief to Meet With Colombian War Veterans

By Jung Sung-ki Staff Reporter Army Chief of Staff Gen. Han Min-koo left for Colombia Wednesday for talks with ranking officials there. He will also visit Peru, the first visit by a South Korean Army Chief of Staff to the country, from Feb. 7 to 11. During his five-day stay in Colombia, Han will meet with Colombian war veterans and deliver a message of appreciation for the sacrifices they made during the 1950-53 Korean War. This year marks the 60th anniversary of the outbreak of the war. "Colombian troops travelled by ship for a month to an unknown Asian nation located on the opposite side of the globe. Their efforts and sacrifice safeguarded our nation's democracy and freedom," the top Army commander said in a news release. Colombia was the only South American country that fought alongside South Korea as part of U.N. forces against North Korean communists backed by China. It sent about 5,300 troops to help defend South Korea. A total of 143 Colombian soldiers were killed during the war, while 438 were wounded and 49 went missing in action, according to the rel

Feb 3, 2010

Prosecutors to Probe Bidding for Military Communication System

By Jung Sung-ki Staff Reporter The Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) has requested military prosecutors investigate an alleged information leakage on the selection of a company to manufacture military communication radio systems, a spokesman for the agency said Tuesday. The request comes amid a stone-throwing campaign over the selection of bidders to participate in the development of the up-to-date Tactical Information Communication Network (TICN), which will replace the existing SPIDER system. The TICN development is broken into six sectors, including a Network Management System (NMS), High Capacity Trunk Radio (HCTR), and Tactical Multi-band and Multi-role Radio (TMMR). Samsung Thales, one of the main bidders for the 3.5 trillion won TICN program, has argued that some officials from the DAPA leaked the results of the agency's evaluation committee in November to its rival, LIG Nex1. Samsung Thales said it had been about to win four of the sub-programs, including the TMMR, worth 1.3 trillion won, but the DAPA accepted complaints by LIG Nex1 to ree

Feb 2, 2010

Exclusive S. Korea to Deploy Acoustic Weapon Locating System in Afghanistan

By Jung Sung-ki Staff Reporter The nation's arms procurement agency has ordered a U.K.-built hostile artillery locating system (HALO) that uses multiple acoustic sensors for its troops to be deployed to Afghanistan later this year, sources at the Ministry of National Defense said Monday. The Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) sealed the contract with SELEX Sensors and Airborne Systems UK, a Finmeccanica company, last week, with more orders being expected for force protection against possible North Korean provocation near the western sea border, the sources said. "Related weapons procurement and upgrades are proceeding to properly protect our forces in Afghanistan," a ministry source said. "The HALO acquisition is part of that effort and the system, in particular, will help protect our troops from roadside bombs, referred to as improvised explosive devices (IEDs)." In December, the Cabinet here endorsed a plan to send 320 troops, 40 police and 100 Provincial Reconstruction Team members to Afghanistan in July. A motion is awaiting parliamentary approval.

Feb 1, 2010

Navy Activates 1st strategic Mobile Fleet

By Jung Sung-ki Staff Reporter The Navy inaugurated Monday its first Aegis destroyer-led squadron Monday in an effort to develop its blue-water operational capability beyond coastal defense. The inauguration ceremony of the 7th Mobile Fleet which will be made up of two squadrons took place at the Naval Operations Command in Busan, the Navy said in a news release. Each squadron consists of a 7,600-ton KDX-II Sejong the Great-class Aegis destroyer and three 4,500-ton KDX-II destroyers. The second KDX-III destroyer, Yi I, will be delivered to the Navy in August after sea trials. The Navy plans to launch one more Aegis ship by 2012. Six 5,600-ton mini-Aegis KDX-IIA destroyers, which will be built and operational between 2019 and 2026, will also join the squadrons. The mobile fleet will be backed by 1,800-ton submarines, frigates, P3-C maritime patrol aircraft and Lynx anti-submarine helicopters, when it conducts operations to secure sea lanes and defend against a possible North Korean invasion, among others, the Navy said. The squadrons will be based at the

Feb 1, 2010

E-Mail Virus Hits Soldiers

By Jung Sung-ki Staff Reporter The military has been placed on alert over an intrusive e-mail virus aimed at hacking the military computer networks, defense ministry officials said Sunday. Since earlier this month, an e-mail titled "New Year's greeting" has been spread to service members with a file attachment, the officials said. When the file is opened, the virus is spread through computer networks. Against that backdrop, service members have been directed not to store classified information on computer main drives and USB thumb drives. "We're investigating if there are any personnel who lost their information due to the virus," an official said, asking to remain anonymous. Earlier this month, the military decided to ban the use of USB flash drives in an attempt to thwart increasing cyber attacks. The decision came after a South Korea-U.S. operational plan was accessed by a hacker through a USB thumb drive used by an officer at the Combined Forces Command here. About 2.8 billion won ($2.5 million) will be spent this year in establishing a new data exchang

Jan 31, 2010

UAE Wants to Buy Koreas T-50 Trainer Jet

By Jung Sung-ki Staff Reporter The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has reopened talks to purchase South Korea's T-50 supersonic trainer aircraft, following stalled negotiations to acquire Italy's M-346 trainer jets, defense procurement officials here said Thursday. The move is expected to boost Korea's bid to sell the trainer to Singapore, which is to announce a final bidder by March. In February last year, the UAE selected the M-346 built by Italy's Alenia Aermacchi as the preferred bidder for a $1.4 billion deal to acquire 48 trainer jets, dealing a blow to Seoul's effort to make the first overseas sale of the T-50 co-developed with Lockheed Martin of the United States. But the Middle East nation has not signed a final contract with Aermacchi due to ``misunderstanding between officials of the UAE and the Italian aircraft maker'' over related trainer specifications, the officials said. Noticeably, the about-face by the UAE followed a landmark $20-billion deal between Korea and the Middle Eastern country to build four nuclear reactors there. In line with the deal, b

Jan 28, 2010

Defense