South Korea’s nuclear-powered subs to help counter China: US naval chief

Joint Press Corps -- The chief of US naval operations said Washington views the deployment of a future South Korean nuclear-powered attack submarine as a “natural expectation” in joint efforts to deter China, underscoring that such a capability would inevitably deepen the allies’ strategic cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region. US Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Daryl Caudle on Friday stressed that once South Korea fields a nuclear-powered attack submarine, the US would expect it to play a role

Nov. 16, 2025

Allies accelerate OPCON transition with 2nd-phase test next year

South Korea and the United States will move ahead next year with the second-phase assessment of Seoul’s readiness to take over wartime operational control, Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back said Friday. The allies set out their agreement in the joint communique from the 57th Security Consultative Meeting, held in Seoul on Nov. 4 during US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s visit to South Korea. Although the SCM communique is typically released immediately after the meeting, its publication was delayed

Nov. 14, 2025

Seoul to raise defense spending as allies map out alliance modernization

South Korea will increase its defense spending and provide more financial support for US soldiers stationed here, while working toward regaining wartime operational control from the US, according to a fact sheet on President Lee Jae Myung’s summit with US President Donald Trump in Gyeongju last month. The document, unveiled Friday, comes after months of speculation that Seoul and Washington were preparing to outline elements of a broader plan to modernize the 72-year-old South Korea-US alliance.

Nov. 14, 2025

S. Korea, US Navy chiefs set to discuss cooperation in shipbuilding, MRO

Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Kang Dong-gil will meet with his US counterpart in Seoul on Friday to discuss ways to strengthen military cooperation between their navies, including in the shipbuilding sector. Kang was to meet Adm. Daryl L. Caudle, the US chief of naval operations, who is arriving in South Korea on Thursday for a four-day trip, to discuss cooperation in the field of shipbuilding and maintenance, repair and operations. The US Navy chief will also meet with US Forces Korea Commande

Nov. 14, 2025

Defense ministry carries out major reshuffle of 3-star generals

The defense ministry said Thursday it has promoted 20 military generals to three-star posts, a sweeping reshuffle aimed at restructuring the military leadership after last year's botched martial law bid. Under the move, 20 military generals -- 14 from the Army and three each from the Navy and the Air Force -- were promoted to lieutenant generals, according to the ministry. It marked the biggest promotion of three-star generals in the past decade. "The latest reshuffle focused on overcoming the D

Nov. 13, 2025

[GBF] S. Korea’s defense industry pivots toward aerospace and unmanned technologies

South Korea’s defense industry is accelerating its transformation from a conventional arms producer into a technology-driven aerospace and unmanned systems powerhouse, signaling a new phase in the nation’s industrial and strategic evolution, an official at one of the country’s top arms exporters said Wednesday. At the Global Biz Forum hosted by Herald Media Group in Seoul on Wednesday, Kim Dong-hyun, head of the Land Systems Business Group at Hanwha Aerospace, outlined plans to channel the compa

Nov. 13, 2025

S. Korea’s nuclear submarine project to reshape regional security dynamics: think tank

South Korea’s decision to pursue nuclear-powered submarines under a recent agreement with the United States is emerging as a watershed moment for the alliance, expanding its strategic cooperation into maritime and high-technology domains while potentially reshaping Northeast Asia’s security landscape, a think tank said Tuesday. In a report released Tuesday, the Sejong Institute said that Seoul’s nuclear submarine program “marks not merely a step in defense capability, but a historic turning poin

Nov. 11, 2025

Navy holds 1st fleet-level maneuver drills marking 80th founding anniversary

The Navy has conducted its first fleet-level maneuver drills in the southern and eastern seas, involving three Aegis-equipped destroyers and four other warships, to mark its 80th founding anniversary, officials said Tuesday. The drills, which kicked off Sunday for a three-day run, mark the Navy's first exercise involving the commander of the naval Task Fleet Command, launched in February to better counter North Korea's military threats at sea. Marking its 80th founding anniversary, which falls o

Nov. 11, 2025

JCS chief orders sweeping reshuffle of senior officers in unprecedented shake-up: sources

South Korea’s top military leadership is facing an unprecedented reshuffle, as Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair Gen. Jin Yong-sung has ordered the large-scale replacement of JCS senior officers in the aftermath of the Dec. 3 martial law crisis. According to military sources earlier this week, Gen. Jin recently issued internal instructions calling for a “comprehensive personnel overhaul” within the JCS. The directive targets most generals currently serving at the headquarters, as well as colonels and

Nov. 7, 2025

North Korea launches ballistic missile into East Sea: JCS

North Korea fired at least one suspected ballistic missile toward the East Sea on Friday, in what observers say appears to be a protest against the latest US sanctions. According to South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff, the launch took place around 12:35 p.m. from Daegwan, North Pyongan Province. The projectile, assessed to be a short-range ballistic type, traveled roughly 700 kilometers before falling into the East Sea, according to the JCS. Authorities in South Korea and the United States are c

Nov. 7, 2025

Full replacement of JCS generals ordered over martial law turmoil: sources

Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) Chairman Gen. Jin Yong-sung has ordered a full replacement of generals at the top military leadership as part of personnel reform following last year's martial law turmoil, sources said Thursday. According to the sources, Jin has ordered the replacement of all generals at the JCS, as well as lieutenant colonels and colonels who have served at the organization for two years or longer. "The measure is part of personnel reform in the aftermath of the martial law (attempt

Nov. 6, 2025

NK prepared for war after Seoul drone operation: report

North Korea went into a war-ready posture after a series of South Korean military drone flights over Pyongyang in October last year according to lawmakers briefed by the military’s intelligence agency. It is now suspected that the South's move had been planned to set the stage for then-President Yoon Suk Yeol’s martial law declaration on Dec. 3, 2024. Reps. Park Sun-won of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea and Lee Seong-kweun of the main opposition People Power Party — executive secretaries o

Nov. 6, 2025

USS George Washington aircraft carrier arrives in Busan

The USS George Washington aircraft carrier arrived at a key naval base in the southeastern city of Busan on Wednesday, South Korea's Navy said, in a reaffirmation of the South Korea-US combined defense posture. The nuclear-powered vessel of Carrier Strike Group 5 entered the naval base in Busan, about 320 kilometers southeast of Seoul, in what marked the first such visit by a US aircraft carrier to South Korea since President Lee Jae Myung took office in June. The aircraft carrier was accompanie

Nov. 5, 2025

Hegseth backs Trump’s green light for S. Korea’s nuclear-powered subs

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Tuesday backed US President Donald Trump’s recent approval for South Korea to build nuclear-powered submarines, saying Washington will coordinate closely with the State and Energy departments to move the plan forward — a development seen as marking a major shift in the allies’ defense cooperation. “We are going to work closely with the Department of State and the Department of Energy to fulfill President Trump’s commitment in a deliberate manner,” Hegseth tol

Nov. 4, 2025

North Korea test-fires artillery rockets during Hegseth’s JSA visit

North Korea fired a barrage of artillery rockets toward the West Sea this week in what appeared to be another show of force timed to coincide with key security events in South Korea, including a joint visit by the South Korean and US defense chiefs to the Demilitarized Zone. The South’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said Tuesday that the North launched about 10 rockets from a multiple launch rocket system at around 4 p.m. Monday toward the northern part of the West Sea. The launch occurred less than an

Nov. 4, 2025