North Korea fired an intermediate-range missile into the East Sea on Tuesday morning. According to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, an intermediate-range ballistic missile was launched from the Pyongyang area at around 6:53 a.m. The missile flew for about 600 kilometers before landing in the water. The missile was detected from the moment of its launch, and the related information was shared with the US and Japan, the JCS said. The JCS condemned North Korea’s missile firing as a

The defense ministry on Monday established a research center aimed at overseeing artificial intelligence development in the defense sector as part of efforts to introduce advanced technologies to the military. A founding ceremony for the Defense AI Center took place at the state-run Agency for Defense Development in Daejeon, 139 kilometers south of Seoul, attended by Defense Minister Shin Won-sik and Science Minister Lee Jong-ho, according to Shin's office. The launch came as part of South

A Navy sailor died after falling overboard while attending a maritime drill in the East Sea on Wednesday, the Navy said. The Navy sergeant aboard a fast patrol boat fell into the water during a live-fire exercise in the East Sea in the afternoon, the Navy's 1st Fleet said. He received first aid treatment and was sent to a nearby hospital but was pronounced dead, the armed service said. The Navy said it is looking into the cause of the accident. He is known to have fallen into the water as h

South Korea and the United States have launched a task force to effectively block North Korea from financing its unlawful nuclear and missile programs, the foreign ministry said Wednesday. The inaugural meeting of the South Korea-US bilateral Enhanced Disruption Task Force was held in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday with over 30 officials in areas of diplomacy, intelligence, sanctions and maritime interdiction, according to the ministry. During the meeting, the two sides discussed ways to counter i

The South Korean government on Friday greenlit the initial mass production plan for KF-21 fighter jets on Friday, totaling 40 units, but with signing contracts set for the production of only 20 units this year. The Defense Acquisition Program Administration emphasized the necessity of producing 40 KF-21 fighter jets, citing what it said was an urgent need to address the military capability shortfall resulting from the retirement of outdated F-4 and F-5 aircraft. "This project is anticipated

The South Korean Board of Audit and Inspection has initiated an inquiry into allegations that the Defense Ministry and other government agencies neglected to verify the demolition of front-line guard posts, which North Korea was supposed to undertake according to the 2018 inter-Korean military agreement. According to both the BAI and the Defense Ministry on Friday, an inspection began Monday, following an earlier audit request from the nonprofit organization Korean Retired Generals and Admirals

South Korea and the United States were staging combined urban combat training this week to bolster their readiness against threats in urban areas and underground facilities, Seoul's Army said Thursday. The five-day Army exercise kicked off at an urban operations training ground in the border city of Paju, 37 kilometers northwest of Seoul, on Monday. The exercise mobilized some 400 troops, including soldiers from the South's 9th Infantry Division, a US infantry platoon and other units,

South Korea and the United States have been conducting river-crossing drills near the border with North Korea to enhance the interoperability of their troops, Seoul's Army said Wednesday. The exercise has been under way on the Imjin River in the border city of Paju, located 37 kilometers north of Seoul, since March 11, according to the Army. Approximately 470 troops from the South Korean Army's 5th Armored Brigade and an engineering battalion under the US 2nd Infantry Division/ROK-US C

The South Korean government said Tuesday it is pushing to increase the benefits for conscripted soldiers by counting their entire service periods towards National Pension plan credits. The National Pension Service requires one to have been enrolled for a minimum of 10 years to receive benefits, but those who have fulfilled their mandatory military duties can currently have their mandated subscription period cut by six months via the "military credit" system. The recent plan by the Mini

South Korea's Defense Minister Shin Won-sik on Monday reaffirmed that the current size of US troops stationed in the country is "absolutely necessary" after a former top Pentagon official questioned the need for such a presence. Christopher Miller, who served as the acting secretary of defense under the former Donald Trump administration, said in a recent local media interview that it was time to discuss whether South Korea still needs 28,500 American troops or if change was neede

South Korea has conducted large-scale military exercises around western border islands to practice deploying forces in the event of North Korean provocations, the military said Sunday. The maneuvers took place Friday around the islands of Baengnyeong and Yeonpyeong near the Yellow Sea border with the North, involving the Marines' quick maneuver force, the Navy landing ship (LST-II), the MUH-1 Marineon helicopter, and the Korean Assault Amphibious Vehicle, according to the North West Islands

South Korean and US warplanes staged a combined live-fire exercise against North Korean cruise missile and long-range artillery threats in waters off the west coast this week, the South's Air Force said Friday. The five-day drills began Monday, mobilizing some 40 aircraft, including South Korean F-35A, F-15K and F-4E jets, as well as A-10 and F-16 aircraft from the US 7th Air Force stationed in the country. Pilots trained on staging precision strikes against simulated enemy cruise missiles

South Korea staged live-fire tank drills Thursday near the inter-Korean border, involving US military engineers, the Army said, as the allies' major annual springtime exercise came to a close. The drills took place as part of a weeklong training at Seungjin Fire Training Field in Pocheon, just 25 kilometers south of the inter-Korean border, in connection with the combined Freedom Shield exercise designed to bolster deterrence against the North's nuclear and missile threats. Some 300 pe

South Korean and US defense officials overseeing technology policies visited Samsung Electronic Co.'s semiconductor plant this week, Seoul's defense ministry said Wednesday, amid efforts to bolster information and communication technology cooperation. Cheon Seung-hyun, head of the defense ministry's Intelligent Information Policy Bureau, and Leslie A. Beavers, the Pentagon's principal deputy chief information officer, made the visit Monday at the plant in Suwon, 30 kilometers

A senior Iraqi Army general visited South Korea last week to look over a homegrown utility helicopter, sources said Wednesday, raising speculation over the Middle Eastern country's potential purchase of the aircraft. Lt. Gen. Samir Zaki Hussein Al-Maliki, commander of Iraq's Army Aviation Command, arrived in South Korea on March 4 for a four-day visit to meet with South Korean military and defense company officials, according to the sources from the defense industry and relevant author

South Korea's top military officer on Sunday called for responding "overwhelmingly" against any enemy provocations as he visited an Air Force missile defense operations center, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said. JCS Chairman Adm. Kim Myung-soo made the call amid concerns of North Korean saber-rattling during the annual Freedom Shield exercise between South Korea and the United States, which began Monday for an 11-day run. "If the enemy undertakes a provocation, don't

South Korea is expected to pass a proposal to shut down a support foundation for the now-shuttered inter-Korean industrial complex in the North's border city of Kaesong as early as next week, the unification ministry said Sunday. The revision to the decree on support for the Kaesong Industrial Complex will be presented at a Cabinet meeting Tuesday, which will entrust the foundation's tasks to the civilian sector, according to the ministry. The foundation -- set up in 2007 to support th

South Korea's arms procurement agency said Wednesday it is seeking to establish a ground-based military rocket launch site to accommodate future satellite launches. The Defense Acquisition Program Administration unveiled the plan in a policy report to President Yoon Suk Yeol, as the military plans to launch dozens of small-sized reconnaissance satellites by 2030 in addition to its first spy satellite launched last year. While the military currently operates a maritime launch site, there h

The annual military drills conducted by South Korea and the US were “frantic war exercises,” North Korea said Tuesday, warning of consequences. “The US and the Republic of Korea have once again launched provocative, large-scale joint military exercises that amplify the unpredictability of the situation in the Korean Peninsula,” North Korea’s Ministry of Defense said in a statement carried by the official state media, the Korean Central News Agency, referring to Sout

A US Navy destroyer arrived at a naval base on the southern island of Jeju on Tuesday for a replenishment purpose, the South Korean Navy said. The USS Higgins Arleigh Burke-class destroyer entered the base to replenish supplies and for crewmembers' rest, a day after South Korea and the United States began their annual combined Freedom Shield exercise for an 11-day run. A South Korean Navy official said the warship's arrival is unrelated to the exercise and there are no plans for joint