South Korea and the US are still discussing the joint military exercises set for later this month, the Ministry of National Defense said Monday, amid growing speculation they could skip the drills to make room for South and North Korea to rebuild strained ties. On Sunday, Kim Yo-jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, issued a statement warning Seoul against the exercises, a week after the two Koreas reopened communications lines. A year ago, Pyongyang cut them and demolished

South Korea and the US have yet to reach consensus on clean-up costs for military bases that Washington is handing back to Seoul, despite years of talks, the first of which was held in 2002. On Friday, the US military agreed to return about one-quarter of its Yongsan Garrison in central Seoul by early next year. This is the second time since last year the US military is giving up parts of its Yongsan base, the largest US installation here and one of 12 sites out of 80 it needs to hand over to K

A total of 265 out of 272 service members who had contracted the new coronavirus while on anti-piracy missions in waters off Africa were released from medical facilities Saturday after making full recoveries, the defense ministry said. All members of the 301-strong Cheonghae unit were airlifted home last week, cutting short their missions in Africa after 247 troops tested positive for COVID-19. Subsequent tests found 25 more cases, raising the total caseload to 272. Of the total, 227 returne

Defense Minister Suh Wook held phone talks with his US counterpart Lloyd Austin on Friday and reaffirmed their commitment to a strong alliance and a firm combined defense posture, the defense ministry said. The two ministers discussed bilateral defense issues and the security situation on the Korean Peninsula, "reaffirmed an ironclad South Korea-US alliance and stressed the importance of close cooperation between the two countries," according to the ministry. Their annual summertime

About 97 percent of service members aged 30 and older have received the second doses of Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine, the defense ministry said Friday. As of Thursday, 113,164 troops, or 96.8 percent of troops of the age group who had their first shots, have received the second doses, according to the ministry. The military provided AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine for their first shots in April and May but the second doses were given with Pfizer's after health authorities decided earlier this m

A Navy officer and a civilian worker for the military tested positive for the new coronavirus, the defense ministry said Thursday. The officer in the southern city of Changwon was confirmed to have been infected while in quarantine, and the civilian worker in Seoul tested positive after one of his family members recently contracted the virus, according to the ministry. The latest cases brought the total caseload among the military population to 1,497, with 305 of them under treatment, it added

Four American service members and a family member of an American worker for the US military tested positive for the new coronavirus upon arrival here from the United States, US Forces Korea (USFK) said Thursday. One of the service members arrived at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, 70 kilometers south of Seoul, on a US government-chartered flight, and three service members and a USFK contractor's family member arrived on international commercial flights at Incheon International Airport, west of Seo

Three soldiers and a civilian worker for the Army tested positive for the new coronavirus, the defense ministry said, the latest in a series of confirmed cases across the country amid a new wave of the pandemic. Two soldiers -- one in the central city of Nonsan and the other in the border city of Paju -- tested positive while being in isolation after recently joining the military, according to the ministry. The remaining soldier in Siheung, south of Seoul, and a civilian worker in the eastern

South and North Korean military authorities held a daily phone call via a military hotline on Wednesday, the defense ministry said, a day after the North restored all severed communication lines with the South. "The South and the North held their daily liaison phone call at 9 a.m. Wednesday, via the western communication line," the defense ministry said, referring to one of the two military hotlines set up across the border. The other channel, known as the eastern line, is not fully

The military has recently seen its biggest coronavirus outbreak since the pandemic began, which forced its anti-piracy warship to come home last week. The 301-strong Cheonghae Unit, which left the country unvaccinated for Africa in February, cut short its mission because more than two-thirds of its crew was infected. But the military, which sent an aircraft to airlift the crew and a contingent to bring the 4,400-ton destroyer left behind back home, told the parliamentary defense committee that

Nearly 90 percent of service members aged 30 and older have received the second doses of Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine, the defense ministry said Tuesday. As of Monday, 104,861 troops, or 89.7 percent of troops of the age group who had their first shots, have received the second doses, according to the ministry. The military provided AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine for their first shots in April and May but the second doses were given with Pfizer's after health authorities decided earlier this m

Twelve people affiliated with US Forces Korea (USFK), including five service members, have tested positive for the new coronavirus, the US military said Tuesday. Two service members at Camp Casey in Dongducheon, 40 kilometers north of Seoul, and three service members at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, 70 km south of the capital, were confirmed to have contracted COVID-19 after developing symptoms, according to USFK. Four family members of a Department of Defense (DoD) employee and another DoD civ

The defense ministry extended the toughest social distancing rules for the military for another two weeks Monday to curb a new wave of the pandemic, restricting service members' vacations and off-installation activities. The Level 4 scheme, which was supposed to expire Sunday, will be in place until Aug. 8, in line with the government's COVID-19 guidance, according to the ministry. Under the new measures, only 10 percent of members of a unit are allowed to go on vacation at the same time. Off-

A suspect in the suicide death of an Air Force sexual abuse victim has been found dead at a military detention facility, a human rights group said Monday. The senior master sergeant was indicted on charges of inflicting secondary harm and threatening retaliation against the master sergeant who took her own life in May, three months after she was allegedly groped and suffered other abuse by a colleague of the same rank. "The senior master sergeant was found unconscious at 2:55 p.m. Sunday

South Korea is considering deploying only vaccinated service members on overseas missions, the defense ministry said Monday, following a mass COVID-19 outbreak at the anti-piracy Cheonghae unit in waters off Africa that infected 90 percent of its members. According to a report submitted to the parliament's defense committee, the ministry's legal affairs bureau is reviewing adding COVID-19 vaccination as a requirement for overseas deployment. Last week, all 301 members of the Cheonghae unit's 3