A U.S. Army attack reconnaissance squadron is set to return to South Korea after missions in Iraq as part of Washington's rebalance to the Asia-Pacific region, according to the Pentagon. The main body of 4th Squadron, 6th Cavalry Regiment, will deploy next week from a base in the U.S. state of Washington, the Pentagon's American Forces Press Service quoted Army Maj. Gen. Stephen R. Lanza as sayi...

A South Korean man who was shot dead while trying to swim across a border river had sought refugee protection in Japan before making a rare attempt to defect to the North, a senior military official said Tuesday. “The dead man had applied for refugee status in Japan for political reasons, but his application was turned down and he was expelled from the nation,” Army Brg. Gen. Jo Jong-seol, deput...

South Korea will develop an advanced coastal surveillance system composed of radar and cameras for deployment in border and offshore areas prone to infiltrations by next year, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration said Monday. The DAPA said it will spend 41.8 billion won ($38.6 million) to upgrade the current radar and thermal observation devices placed in coastal areas and additionally...

A homegrown torpedo failed to hit the target again in the latest test-firing conducted earlier this month, an official said Sunday, raising questions about possible faulty designs and casting clouds over the prospect of resuming its production. The Navy has test-fired four rounds of the torpedo, named "Hongsangeo," or "Red Shark," since July in waters off the east coast. The first three rounds h...

President Park Geun-hye will visit Indonesia and Brunei for regional cooperation summits next month, her office said Thursday. Park will attend a summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum to be held in Indonesia‘s resort island of Bali on Oct. 7-8. She will then attend a series of meetings related to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to be held in Brunei on Oct. 9-10, senior...

A group of retired Air Force chiefs have stepped up opposition to the government’s plan to buy 60 Boeing F-15 Silent Eagles, criticizing the selection process that put top priority on price over capabilities, sources said Thursday. In late August, 17 four-star Air Force generals sent letters to the National Assembly, presidential office and defense ministry to suggest a reconsideration of the cu...

The South Korean military is apparently seeking to upgrade its missile defense capability to Patriot Advanced Capability (PAC)-III, with the purchase of Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) systems in mind as a possible next step, a U.S. defense industry official said Wednesday. If confirmed, it would contradict South Korean Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin's statement that his country is ju...

South Korea on Wednesday unveiled its first indigenous 4,500-ton amphibious landing ship, which will be deployed on the Navy's landing and transportation operations in 2015, the Navy said. The lead ship of 3,500-ton class named after Cheonwangbong, the highest peak of Mount Jiri, was built with domestic technology by Hanjin Heavy Industries & Construction Co. A launching ceremony was held in Ha...

The United States has no plans this year for tripartite ballistic missile defense exercises with South Korea and Japan despite Washington's continued push for bolstering three-way military cooperation with the key regional allies, according to a Pentagon source. "I do not believe we have any trilat missile exercise scheduled this year," the source told Yonhap News Agency. The three countries ha...

South Korea's plan to deploy a surveillance blimp near the northwestern border has been delayed due to errors in its data transmission system, the state arms procurement agency said Sunday. The Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) spent 24 billion won (US$21.9 million) to build an airship with imported parts to monitor the North Korean military near the tensely guarded border. The ...

South Korea and the United States have completed a draft of a joint military plan that outlines how to handle the North Korean nuclear threat, a government source said Sunday. South Korean and U.S. officials have prepared a customized deterrence plan over the last 10 months, which will be signed at the Security Consultative Meeting between the two nation‘s defense chiefs slated for Oct. 2, the s...