South Korean and US defense chiefs will hold talks in Seoul next week to discuss the future of the allies’ joint military drills following the suspension of the scheduled Freedom Guardian exercise, the Defense Ministry said Thursday. 　The meeting between Defense Minister Song Yong-moo and his US counterpart Jim Mattis will take place Thursday during the Pentagon chief’s one-day trip to South Korea, according the ministry. 　Scheduled to visit China ahead of his visit to Seoul, Mattis will meet w

 The headquarters of United States Forces Korea will be moved to a sprawling army garrison located south of Seoul next week, marking a new chapter in the US military presence here amid a flurry of speculation over the troop’s future roles. 　According to the Ministry of National Defense and USFK, the opening ceremony of the new USFK headquarters building in Camp Humphreys will be held on June 29. Located in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, some 70 kilometers south of Seoul, Camp Humphreys is the la

With South Korea and the US canceling a large-scale joint military drill slated for August, speculation is rising over the prospect of other training drills scheduled to follow the suspended Freedom Guardian exercise. 　In the past years when North Korea conducted nuclear and missile tests, a series of bilateral and trilateral military exercises took place even after the scheduled command-post Freedom Guardian exercises ended. 　While the allies’ militaries have stressed that no decision has been

With South Korea and the United States declaring the halt of their joint military exercise scheduled for August, debate has emerged over the decision’s impact on the nuclear negotiation with North Korea.  　The Ministry of National Defense and Pentagon announced Tuesday that they suspended “all planning” for the Freedom Guardian exercise following US President Donald Trump’s pledge to end “expensive and provocative” war games. 　While Trump’s announcement took South Korea by surprise and sparked c

South Korea and the United States have agreed to suspend their joint military drill slated for August, Seoul’s Defense Ministry said Tuesday, following US President Donald Trump’s pledge to end “war games” with South Korea after his summit with North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un last week. In a text message sent to reporters, the Ministry of National Defense said the allies forces have decided to suspend "all plans" for the upcoming computer-simulated Freedom Guardian exercise. Describing the susp

South Korea on Monday kicked off a military exercise designed to defend its easternmost islets of Dokdo, prompting Japan to protest against the maneuver as it continues to claim sovereignty over Dokdo.Taking place in the waters near Dokdo, the two-day exercise involves six naval vessels and seven aircrafts, according to the Navy and the Marine Corps. The exercise includes a landing drill where a marine squad sets foot on the islets.  Dokdo in the East Sea (Herald DB)The military said the exercis

 Chinese leader Xi Jinping had asked North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to demand a halt to South Korea-US joint military exercises, a Japanese newspaper reported Sunday, countering US President Trump’s claim that he had been the first to make such a proposal to North Korea. 　Citing a Chinese diplomatic source, Japanese daily Asahi Shimbun reported that Xi proposed the idea to Kim during their summit in Dalian, China, from May 7-8. It was the second time that the two countries’ leaders had met sinc

　The South Korean government Sunday denied the report that the two Koreas discussed withdrawing North Korea’s long-range artilleries, but speculation persists that the idea would be discussed at future inter-Korean military talks. 　The Ministry of National Defense said that the idea of pulling back the long-range artillery along the border with North Korea was never brought up during the inter-Korean military talks held on Thursday. 　“Neither South Korea nor North Korea proposed the idea of pull

Panmunjeom – North Korea urged South Korea Thursday to suspend its joint military exercise with the United States during rare military talks as US President Donald Trump floated the idea of halting what he described as a “provocative, expensive” war game. According to the Ministry of National Defense, North Korean delegates demanded their South Korean counterpart halt the joint military exercise in the spirit of the Panmunjeom agreement, where the two Koreas leaders pledged to cease cross-border

PANMUNJEOM -- North Korea urged South Korea Thursday to suspend its joint military exercise with the United States during rare military talks as US President Donald Trump floated the idea of halting what he described as a “provocative, expensive” war game. According to the Ministry of National Defense, North Korean delegates demanded their South Korean counterpart halt the joint military exercise in the spirit of the Panmunjeom agreement, where the two Koreas leaders pledged to cease cross-borde

 Controversy continued to escalate Wednesday over US President Donald Trump’s remark on halting joint military drills with South Korea, fueling concern about his security commitment to long-standing allies in the region.It is still unclear what Trump meant and intended by stopping “war games” -- whether the announcement aims to suspend semiannual large-scale exercises or whether it is just another gambit to put pressure on South Korea to pay more for stationing US troops. Whatever purpose he may

South Korea’s presidential office Wednesday hinted at the possibility of suspending the country‘s joint military drills with the United States, raising the prospect of halting the upcoming Ulchi Freedom Guardian exercise scheduled for August.　Cheong Wa Dae said Wednesday while it needs more time to figure out the meaning and intention of Trump’s remark, the government can consider “various options” to build trust with North Korea to foster the denuclearization process.　“When there is serious tal

Despite a joint agreement and lofty words, the first-ever summit between the US and North Korea appears to have made little progress in achieving the much-anticipated goal of denuclearizing North Korea, analysts said. Following their summit on the resort island of Sentosa in Singapore, US President Donald Trump and North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un signed an agreement that “reaffirmed firm and unwavering commitment to complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.”But the agreement is a repea

　US President Donald Trump said Tuesday denuclearization of North Korea will start “very quickly” after signing an agreement with North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un at a historic summit in Singapore.　“We‘re starting that process,“ Trump said in response to a question about denuclearization of North Korea after meeting with Kim at the resort island of Sentosa in Singapore. The process would start ”very quickly,” he added. 　The remark came after the first-ever US-North Korea summit aimed at resolvin

North Korea on Tuesday informed South Korea of its delegation for upcoming inter-Korean military talks scheduled for Thursday, amid heightened expectations for the easing of cross-border tensions following a series of cross-border summits. 　Led by Army Lt. Gen Ahn Ik-san, a total of five delegates will attend the general-level military talks scheduled to take place at Panmungak, a North Korean building inside the truce village of Panmunjeom, South Korea’s Defense Ministry said,　The announcement

United States President Donald Trump and North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un are scheduled to kick off their historic summit Tuesday in Singapore. With the eyes of the world upon them, here is a breakdown of how the day will unfold. The first-ever meeting between a sitting US president and a North Korean leader is to kick off at 9 a.m. Tuesday at Capella Hotel on the resort island of Sentosa in Singapore. Trump announced plans to leave early for the summit site. Starting off with a handshake, the o

South Korean President Moon Jae-in said Monday it would be a “great gift” for US President Donald Trump’s birthday if his summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is successful, Cheong Wa Dae said. During a phone call with Trump, Moon credited Trump for his “bold decision” and “courageous leadership” to hold the historic summit with North Korea scheduled for Tuesday in Singapore. The two leaders also discussed the declaration of an official end to the Korean War during the 40-minute call, Che

With US President Donald Trump and North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un arriving at Singapore on Sunday, the countdown to the historic summit began even as negotiations continued over how to make the historic summit a success. 　From the truce village of Panmunjeom and Singapore, top nuclear envoys from North Korea and the US have engaged in a series of discussions aimed at resolving their nuclear standoff and decades-old animosity. 　While the details of the talks were not released to the public, the

 　With North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump in Singapore for a summit on Tuesday, there is hope and caution over whether the historic meeting will lead to resolving the nuclear standoff and decadesold animosity. 　Expectations are higher than ever that the summit -- scheduled to take place on the city state’s resort island of Sentosa -- will pave the way for peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and the surrounding region. 　Yet, Pyongyang and Washington remain at o

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump arrived Sunday in Singapore ahead of their first-ever summit on Tuesday. After landing at Singapore’s Changi Airport shortly at around 2:40 p.m., Kim met with Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the Istana Presidential Palace and expressed gratitude to Lee for hosting event.  In this photo released by the Ministry of Communications and Information of Singapore, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, right, arrives at the Changi In