Tours to the inter-Korean truce village of Panmunjom will resume after months of suspension caused by COVID-19, the UN Command (UNC) said Thursday. The UNC said it decided to restart the tours to the Joint Security Area in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas, in line with the South Korean government's continued easing of antivirus restrictions. It did not specify when the tours will resume. The tours were last suspended in January due to a rise in infection cases. As an enforc

A subcommittee of South Korea's state defense procurement committee has endorsed a basic proposal to purchase some 20 F-35A radar-evading fighters, Seoul officials said Wednesday. The Defense Project Promotion Committee's subcommittee approved it on June 9 in a push for a 3.9 trillion won ($3 billion) project to introduce the fighters, manufactured by the US defense giant Lockheed Martin from 2023 through the mid to late 2020s. The approval came as the conservative Yoon Suk-yeol admini

PYEONGTAEK -- South Korea's Navy on Wednesday held a ceremony to commemorate the sacrifices of sailors killed in an inter-Korean naval skirmish near the western sea border two decades ago. The memorial event took place at the Navy's Second Fleet in Pyeongtaek, 70 kilometers south of Seoul, with the attendance of some 300 people, including the sailors' families and fellow troops. The naval conflict occurred near the South's frontline island of Yeonpyeong on June 29, 2002, as t

S.Korea plans to participate in NATO’s annual cyber defense exercise next year

N. Korea move seen as preparation for deploying tactical nuclear weapons along the border

Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup on Thursday reaffirmed South Korea's commitment to further strengthening its alliance with the United States, pointing to the "very grave" security threats from North Korea. He was speaking at a breakfast meeting with former and current South Korean and US officials, as concerns have grown about the possibility of the North carrying out its seventh nuclear experiment at the Punggye-ri testing site. "Due to the advances in North Korea's nuc

Soaring Eagle open to public for first time since 2017 amid North Korea’s continuing ballistic launches

South Korea's Air Force on Monday kicked off a biannual aerial combat exercise, involving its radar-evading F-35A fighters and dozens of other warplanes, in order to ensure a "firm" readiness posture, the armed service said. The five-day Soaring Eagle exercise began amid lingering tensions caused by North Korea's continued ballistic missile launches and speculation that it has completed preparations for what would be its seventh nuclear test. The training got under way at the

N. Korea’s nuclear spending reaches $640 million in 2021, report says

S. Korea to independently conduct live-fire missile drill during RIMPAC exercise

South Korea's military reported 782 additional COVID-19 cases Tuesday, raising the total caseload among its service members to 169,772, the defense ministry said. The new cases included 655 from the Army, 67 from the Air Force and 36 from the Navy. There were also 14 cases from units under the direct control of the ministry, nine from the Marine Corps and one from the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Currently, 3,933 military personnel are under treatment. Meanwhile, the US Forces Korea (USFK) said 1

Police raided the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) and the Defense Communication Command (DCC) on Tuesday in connection with allegations that an unqualified company won a contract to supply information modules to the military. The National Police Agency sent investigators to search the DIA office in Seoul's Yongsan district and the DCC office in Gwacheon, just south of the capital, for materials related to the allegations, officials said. Police are looking into suspicions that an unqualif

Shangri-La Dialogue becomes venue for S.Korea, US, Japan to seek ways to enhance security cooperation to address N.Korea’s ballistic missile launches

Three countries decide to publicly conduct missile defense exercises to send message to N.Korea

S.Korea , US defense chief discuss aid to Ukraine, Indo-Pacific security issues