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Defense chief quells fears of US troop pullout
South Korea’s defense minister sought this week to tamp down speculation that the US could scale back its troops on the peninsula. Calling such talk unfounded, he emphasized that even as Washington sharpens its military focus on China, the South Korea-US alliance is deepening, not weakening. In a dinner meeting with reporters on Tuesday, Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back said he had “never once” heard US leaders or lawmakers discuss reducing or withdrawing the roughly 28,500-strong US Forces Korea t
Oct. 1, 2025 -
S. Korea selects US firm L3Harris for airborne control aircraft procurement
South Korea's state arms procurement agency said Tuesday it has selected US defense contractor L3Harris Technologies to supply four new airborne control aircraft as part of the second phase of a project to bolster the country's surveillance capabilities. At a meeting of its defense project committee, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) approved the 3.87 trillion-won ($2.82 billion) project to acquire four Global 6500 aircraft by 2032. Through the second phase of the project, th
Sept. 30, 2025 -
House defense policy bill calls for maintaining 28,500 USFK troops
The US House version of an annual defense policy bill, passed earlier this month, includes a call for maintaining around 28,500 American troops in South Korea and reaffirming the United States' deterrence commitment to the Asian ally, its text showed Monday. The House approved its version of the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2026 in a 231-196 vote on Sept. 10, authorizing $893 billion in military spending. The text of the endorsed bill has recently been released on Congress'
Sept. 30, 2025 -
Captain of US command ship says S. Korea-US alliance has 'never been stronger'
BUSAN -- The captain of the command ship of the US Navy's 7th Fleet said Monday the decadeslong alliance between South Korea and the United States has "never been stronger," as the warship has made its first port call in nearly six years in the South. Captain Louis Catalina, commanding officer of the USS Blue Ridge, made the remarks in a press tour aboard the command ship at a major naval base in the southeastern city of Busan. The 19,600-ton USS Blue Ridge made a port visit at the naval base on
Sept. 29, 2025 -
Navy flaunts maritime strength in fleet review marking 80th anniv.
A P-8A maritime patrol aircraft, escorted by two F-15K fighter jets, dashed across skies over waters off the southeastern port city of Busan on a mild autumn afternoon and dropped 80 flares into the sea. The commemorative move signaled the beginning of the first fleet review in seven years to mark the 80th anniversary of the Navy, the first branch of the military to be established in South Korea. Alongside the P-8A, dubbed the "submarine killer," the ceremony showcased some of the Navy's most re
Sept. 26, 2025 -
North Korean ship with Chinese flag retreats after crossing sea border
The South Korean military fired warning shots early Friday after a North Korean merchant vessel flying a Chinese national flag briefly crossed the Northern Limit Line, the de facto maritime boundary in the Yellow Sea, officials said. According to the Joint Chiefs of Staff in Seoul, the ship sailed as far as 5 kilometers south of the NLL northwest of Baengnyeongdo at around 5 a.m. before retreating roughly an hour later. The JCS currently assesses the incursion as unintentional. South Korean forc
Sept. 26, 2025 -
Koreas are 2 states in reality, unification minister says
Unification Minister Chung Dong-young once again acknowledged that South and North Korea function as “two separate states in reality,” while stressing that this did not mean permanent division, as South Korea’s ultimate goal remains unification. “Recognizing the two Koreas as separate states does not mean accepting permanent division. This is a pragmatic and realistic perspective, a flexible approach to managing inter-Korean relations,” Chung told reporters on Thursday during a briefing. "In rea
Sept. 25, 2025 -
US next-generation air defense system seen deployed to USFK
The US military’s next-generation air defense system, the Indirect Fire Protection Capability, has been deployed to US Forces Korea for the first time, a photo released through the Pentagon’s public media archive showed Thursday. The photo shows a missile launcher identified as part of the IFPC in the background as US Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George shakes hands with USFK troops during his visit to Osan Air Base in Gyeonggi Province on Monday. It was uploaded to the Defense Visual Informat
Sept. 25, 2025 -
S. Korea, US concur 'significant' progress made in meeting conditions for wartime OPCON transfer
South Korea and the United States have concurred that "significant" progress has been made in efforts to fulfill conditions for transferring wartime operational command to Seoul from Washington, officials said Wednesday. The two sides shared the assessment during their senior-level regular defense talks held in Seoul from Tuesday to Wednesday. Earlier this month, the government confirmed the OPCON transfer as a key policy task for President Lee Jae Myung's five-year term and said it will draw up
Sept. 24, 2025 -
JCS nominee apologizes for military's actions in martial law fiasco
Jin Young-seung, nominee for South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman, pledged political neutrality of the armed forces on Wednesday, while apologizing for the military’s involvement in former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s failed martial law declaration on Dec. 3. “Our military must return to principles and basics grounded in constitutional values to stand again as the people’s armed forces in this grave situation,” Jin told lawmakers during his confirmation hearing at the National Assembly’s de
Sept. 24, 2025 -
JCS chief nominee vows to bolster readiness posture against 'complex' security threats
The nominee for the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff pledged Wednesday to strengthen the military's readiness posture against what he called "complex" security threats. Air Force Gen. Jin Yong-sung made the remark as he attended a parliamentary confirmation hearing for the top military officer post. "I will fully prepare a military readiness posture that can prevail against complex security threats," Jin said, vowing to bolster the country's three-axis deterrence system and seek military co
Sept. 24, 2025 -
KF-16 goes off air base runway; no casualties reported
A KF-16 fighter jet went off a runway at an air base in the central city of Chungju on Tuesday, but no casualties were reported, the Air Force said. The excursion occurred at around 4:38 p.m. as the single-seat fighter jet was preparing to take off for training, the armed service said in a notice to reporters. The Air Force is looking into the exact scope of the damage and plans to launch an investigation committee to determine the cause of the accident. (Yonhap)
Sept. 23, 2025 -
US defense strategy poised to press South Korea for bigger military role: report
The Pentagon's forthcoming National Defense Strategy, set to be unveiled next month, is expected to press South Korea to take on greater military responsibilities and shoulder a larger share of defense costs, experts said Monday, signaling a possible shift in the alliance under the second Donald Trump administration. A report released by the state-run Korea Institute for Defense Analyses said the document will likely focus on four priorities: defending the US homeland, bolstering deterrence agai
Sept. 22, 2025 -
Lee vows to build smart, independent military through defense reform
President Lee Jae Myung on Sunday pledged to seek a powerful defense reform to build a smart and independent military that can protect the country from any invasion, instead of relying on the sheer number of troops. "While it is true that the population issue is serious and troop resources for the near term are insufficient, there is no need to worry about our defense capabilities by simply comparing the number of regular troops," Lee wrote in a post updated on his Facebook account. "Fifty peopl
Sept. 21, 2025 -
S. Korea, US to hold senior-level KIDD defense talks in Seoul next week
South Korea and the United States plan to hold their senior-level regular defense talks in Seoul next week, officials said Tuesday, in the face of thorny security issues, including Seoul's push to retake wartime operational control. The biannual Korea-US Integrated Defense Dialogue is set to take place on Tuesday and Wednesday, Seoul's defense ministry said. The upcoming meeting will mark the second KIDD gathering under the second Trump administration following the previous one held at the Penta
Sept. 17, 2025