South Korea and the United States will next month endorse a draft plan to establish a new command structure that will be applied when Seoul takes back wartime operational control of its country’s troops from Washington, Seoul’s Defense Ministry said Thursday. 　The scheme will be approved when the allies’ defense leaders hold their annual Military Committee Meeting and Security Consultative Meeting from Oct. 27-28 in Seoul, said the ministry in a report submitted to lawmakers during the first pa

 　North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs are all over the news globally, but the country also has one low-profile tactic designed to bring significant disruption to its adversaries: hacktivism.　A South Korean lawmaker revealed Monday that the regime’s hackers had hacked into South Korea’s military network and snatched a trove of the allies’ wartime operational plans, including a “decapitation strike” scheme against the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. 　The Pentagon stressed a day later the c

Suspicions that South Korea’s classified wartime operational plan may now be in the hands of the North Korean army continued to roil South Korea on Tuesday after a lawmaker revealed more disturbing details about the alleged North Korean hacking of South Korea’s military network system last year. 　According to Rep. Rhee Chul-hee of the ruling Democratic Party, a trove of operational schemes drafted by the South Korea and the US militaries were leaked by hackers of North Korean origin, who breache

　South Korea’s arms maker Hanhwa Techwin has showcased a self-propelled howitzer in a major international trade show of weapons currently taking place in Washington, the US, the Seoul-based company said Monday.  　The K-9 Thunder was displayed at the 2017 Annual Meeting & Exposition of the Association of the United States Army, which is one of the biggest international military exhibitions in the Americas. It will run through Wednesday, local time. 　“South Korea has been an importer of US weapons

　South Korea’s Defense Ministry said Monday that it plans to use artificial intelligence in military operations to assist battle commanders in making informed decisions during a combat.　The ministry is seeking to develop the AI-based system by 2025 to support commanders’ decision-making process. The envisioned system will be distributed to front-line units following extensive field tests. 　Once it becomes operational, commanders will be able to rely on the intelligence provided by AI to come up

 　Bullying, violence and abuse occur most frequently among the Marines than in any other military branch, a lawmaker said Monday.　The number of Marines punished for military law violations in the past five years is more than twice that of the Army, Navy and Air Force, said Rep. Kim Joong-ro of the People’s Party, citing data from the Defense Ministry. 　A total of 69 Marines were convicted and punished by the military court, compared to 28 in the Army, 27 in the Navy and 24 in the Air Force. Mari

　With North Korea gearing up to mark a major anniversary this week, concern is rising that the communist regime might celebrate the occasion with another provocation and heighten tension on the Korean Peninsula again. 　North Korea has not staged major provocations since its launch of an intermediate ballistic missile on Sept. 15 and a test of what it said was a hydrogen bomb on Sept. 3, though it has exchanged war of words with the US President Donald Trump and made a series of verbal threats to

The South Korean government is seeking to take back wartime operational control of its armed forces from the United States within President Moon Jae-in’s five-year term, an opposition lawmaker said Friday. In order to complete the OPCON transfer, the Ministry of National Defense has come up with a “three-phase” road map and begun its implementation, said Rep. Kim Hack-yong of the Liberty Korea Party, citing data released by the Defense Ministry.  Rep. Kim Hack-yong of the Liberty Korea Party (Yo

　South Korea’s military on Thursday unveiled a package of advanced missile systems capable of targeting North Korea, demonstrating its capability to defend against the regime’s persistent nuclear and missile threats. 　During Armed Forces Day held at the Navy’s 2nd Fleet Command in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, President Moon Jae-in conducted an inspection of troops and strategic weapons from the Army, Navy and Air Force. 　Among them were Hyunmoo-class surface-to-surface ballistic missiles, incl

During the Korean War, the US Air Force and Navy carried out a massive bombing campaign against Pyongyang that lasted for almost three years. By the end of the war, when an armistice was signed in 1953, the city was virtually flattened, with about 75 percent of it destroyed.　　Since then, the communist country has made efforts to build one of the world’s densest air defense networks. A multilayered air defense structure has been constructed around Pyongyang, the North’s coastal corridors and its

　South Korea has conducted a successful test of an advance system designed to protect aircrafts from incoming missiles and infrared homing, Seoul’s military said Wednesday, boosting hopes the technology will enhance Seoul’s special warfare capability targeting North Korea’s leadership. 　During the trial at a test site in Anheung, Gyeonggi Province, in July, aircrafts outfitted with Directional Infrared Countermeasures (DICRM) successfully avoided several incoming missiles by disturbing their gui

   For most South Koreans, war with North Korea is something unfathomable. Regardless of its outcome, they are convinced any armed conflict here would end with millions of casualties and the complete devastation of the South’s flourishing economy. 　Such worries are shaped by the notion that Seoul and its surrounding provinces, home to some 25 million Koreans and well within the range of the communist North’s artillery and ballistic missiles, would be reduced to ashes if attacked. 　Although Seoul

　A shallow earthquake detected near North Korea’s nuclear test site on Saturday was not the result of a fresh nuclear test by the reclusive regime, South Korea and China’s earthquake-monitoring agencies concluded Sunday.　However, a nuclear test ban watchdog and some seismic experts suspected that the earthquake, whose magnitude ranges from 3.2 to 3.5 depending on regional seismology agencies, could have been a delayed geological reaction to the nuclear test nearly three weeks ago.　The quake was

The United States military on Thursday deployed an artillery unit to South Korea and conducted a live-fire exercise, showcasing the ability to rapidly deploy its units in the event of contingency on the Korean Peninsula. According to the 8th Army in Seoul, its components and the US-based 18th Field Artillery Brigade conducted the joint training in Daecheon, South Chungcheong Province. The artillery brigade departed on Wednesday from its base in Fort Bragg, North Carolina.Titled as “Emergency Dep

　A senior official of Korea Aerospace Industries was found dead Thursday in an apparent suicide, amid a sprawling prosecutorial probe into corruption allegations surrounding the head of the country’s sole aircraft manufacturer. 　According to police, the body of Kim In-sik, who was in charge of KAI’s overseas business as vice president, was found at his home in Sacheon, South Gyeongsang Province. A three-page suicide note was found near his body.  (Yonhap)　Kim’s death came a day after KAI Chief E

　South Korea’s presidential office on Wednesday denied a report that the government had agreed with the United States to develop its own nuclear submarines and planned to announce the result after President Moon Jae-in’s visit to the United Nations. 　“No agreement of any sort has been reached between the two countries,” a Cheong Wa Dae official said in a text message to reporters under the condition of anonymity. “The report about the agreement on nuclear-powered submarines is groundless.” 　Anot

With the United Nations imposing a series of sanctions against North Korea, former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Monday urged the international community to brace itself for all possibilities, including military options.　“We must be ready to confront any consequences and any eventualities, including military options, to address (North Korea’s threat),” Ban said in a security forum in Seoul. “Otherwise, North Korea would be emboldened.” 　Noting that North Korea’s nuclear program poses the m

　In response to North Korea‘s missile launch Friday, South Korea fired off two ballistic missiles, but one of them crashed into the sea, sparking concern over Seoul’s missile capacity to counter the rogue regime. 　According to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, one Hyunmoo II-A intermediate-range ballistic missile splashed into the East Sea within a few seconds of being launched. The other flew 250 kilometers and hit its intended target accurately in a simulated pre-emptive strike.　South Korea

Friday’s missile launch shows North Korea is closer to completing its decadeslong missile and nuclear weapons programs, and its leader Kim Jong-un has no real incentive to abandon them at this stage, experts said. They also noted that the series of missile and nuclear tests may have been based on the regime’s calculated timeline and that the regime would not halt its endeavors until it can exert concessions from the US in a one-on-one negotiation. Despite the United Nations’ new sanctions, the N

South Korea has successfully conducted its first live-fire exercise for an advanced long-range cruise missile capable of striking North Korea’s underground military facilities and command centers, Seoul’s Air Force said Wednesday. According to the military, the Taurus missile fired from a F-15K fighter jet traveled about 400 kilometers before hitting a target on Jikdo in the West Sea on Tuesday. It flew through obstacles at a low altitude of 500 meters and rose up to 3 kilo