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Military chiefs of S. Korea, US meet but avoid thorny issues
The top military officers of South Korea and the United States met Thursday but avoided thorny issues such as a potential increase in Seoul's payment for the stationing of US Forces Korea on the peninsula, sources close to the matter said. Adm. Kim Myung-soo, chairman of the South's Joint Chiefs of Staff, and his US counterpart, Gen. John Daniel Caine, held a 40-minute meeting at Seoul’s JCS headquarters. Their agenda focused on updates on North Korea's military and security cooperation between
July 10, 2025 -
Defense Ministry, National Security Office searched in Marine death probe
The special counsel team on Thursday conducted a search and seizure operation at the Ministry of National Defense and the presidential National Security Office as part of an investigation into allegations that senior officials intervened in a probe into the 2023 death of a young Marine. The team, led by special counsel Lee Myung-hyun, executed search and seizure warrants targeting the Defense Ministry’s Policy Office, Spokesperson’s Office and Military Advisor’s Office, as well as the National S
July 10, 2025 -
Ex-Marine investigator to be reinstated after acquittal of insubordination charges
The Marine Corps said Thursday it will reinstate a former Marine investigator who led a probe into the 2023 death of a young conscript, as he was acquitted of insubordination charges related to the case. Former Col. Park Jung-hun will be reinstated Friday, the Marine Corps said in a notice to the press, after he was dismissed from the post in August 2023 in a probe related to the death of Cpl. Chae Su-geun. The reinstatement comes as a special prosecutor looking into the death decided Wednesday
July 10, 2025 -
Top military officers of S. Korea, US to meet amid USFK role change speculation
The top military officers of South Korea and United States were set to meet in Seoul on Thursday to discuss their countries' bilateral alliance amid speculation over a possible change in the role of US troops stationed here. The meeting between Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Kim Myung-soo and his US counterpart, Gen. Dan Caine, comes a day ahead of their regular meeting with their Japanese counterpart, Gen. Yoshihide Yoshida, that will take place at the South's JCS headquarters Friday, acco
July 10, 2025 -
US think tank proposes slashing USFK troop level to about 10,000 from 28,500
A US think tank recommended a reduction of the US Forces Korea troop level to about 10,000 from the current 28,500 in a report released Wednesday, amid speculation that the Pentagon might weigh the idea of a troop drawdown on the Korean Peninsula to prioritize deterring Chinese threats. Defense Priorities, a Washington-based institution, released the report, titled "Aligning global military posture with US interests," saying that the US troop presence should be reduced even further if Seoul limi
July 10, 2025 -
Existing S. Korea-US defense cost-sharing deal should be upheld: Seoul official
An official at Seoul's Foreign Ministry said Wednesday that the latest South Korea-US defense cost-sharing deal for the 2026-2030 period -- the Special Measures Agreement signed last year under then-US President Joe Biden -- should be upheld. The remark came as US President Donald Trump raised the pressure on South Korea, suggesting that Seoul should shoulder more of the costs of stationing US troops here, on Tuesday, local time. The day before, Trump said he would start imposing 25 percent tari
July 9, 2025 -
Lee orders review of plans for defense industry control tower
President Lee Jae Myung on Tuesday called for Cabinet members to come up with and review plans to launch a new control tower to bolster the country’s defense industry. “The defense industry is our economy’s new growth momentum as well as a strong foundation of our defense capability,” Lee said, as he presided over a Cabinet meeting held in the morning. “(I ask relevant Cabinet members) to review the launch of a new control tower for the growth of our defense industry … and put pan-governmental e
July 8, 2025 -
North Korean crossed MDL into South Korea Thursday: JCS
A North Korean male, who identified himself as a civilian, crossed the Military Demarcation Line inside the Demilitarized Zone into South Korea, the South's military officials said Friday. The individual was taken into custody after crossing the midwestern part of the land border on Thursday, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a text message to reporters. It has yet to detect any unusual activities among the North Korean military. “Our military identified the individual in question in t
July 4, 2025 -
S. Korean, US, Japanese military chiefs to meet in Seoul
Top military commanders from South Korea, the United States and Japan are expected to meet in Seoul next week to discuss issues related to North Korea, including its nuclear weapons program and recent missile provocations. According to South Korea’s military on Thursday, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Kim Myung-soo will host his US counterpart, Gen. Dan Caine, and Japan’s Chief of Staff, Joint Staff Gen. Yoshihide Yoshida, for a trilateral meeting in Seoul on July 10 and 11. Gen. Caine, who assu
July 3, 2025 -
S. Korea inks 2nd K2 tank export deal with Poland
South Korea signed its second “large-scale” deal to export a second batch of K2 tanks to Poland, the state arms procurement agency said Wednesday, amid growing calls for the country to tap its military manufacturing firms to navigate new global security challenges. “Polish Minister of National Defense Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz officially announced on July 2 that the negotiations for the second deal involving K2 tanks with Hyundai Rotem were finalized and set to be signed,” Seoul's Defense Acquis
July 2, 2025 -
Lee orders Defense Ministry to devise redevelopment plans for ex-US military bases
President Lee Jae Myung on Tuesday ordered the Defense Ministry to come up with redevelopment plans for multiple former military bases and land located near the inter-Korean border that has been returned by the US Forces Korea. Lee ordered the ministry to “proactively review” the issue of how to use the land during Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting, presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung said during an afternoon briefing In 2004, Seoul and Washington agreed to relocate all US forces to garrisons located
July 1, 2025 -
S. Korea should tap arms makers to deal with new security challenges: think tank
South Korea should utilize its military manufacturing firms to navigate new security challenges and shifting demands posed by the latest NATO defense spending agreement, a think tank said Monday. “With NATO members now committed to raising defense spending to 5 percent of GDP, demand for advanced weapons systems and defense technology is set to rise sharply,” the Asan Institute for Policy Studies said in its report, “Managing Decline? NATO’s Uneasy Future After the 2025 Summit." “South Korea’s d
July 1, 2025 -
Will NATO's new spending target be boon to S. Korea's defense exports?
Expectations are rising that South Korean defense firms will emerge as key beneficiaries of Europe’s expanding defense spending, with much of the optimism attributed to the country’s proven capacity to meet NATO’s surging procurement demands. Speaking Thursday after returning from the NATO summit in The Hague, national security adviser Wi Sung-lac said, “With NATO moving to raise its defense spending from around or even below 2 percent to 5 percent of GDP (gross domestic product), demand is boun
June 27, 2025 -
S. Korea, NATO to launch new defense cooperation framework
South Korea and NATO have agreed to establish a working-level consultative body to enhance cooperation in the defense industry as part of broader efforts to expand Seoul’s role in NATO’s next-generation capability initiatives, National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac said Thursday after returning from the NATO summit. During his trip to The Hague, where he attended the NATO summit in place of President Lee Jae Myung, Wi held a bilateral meeting with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte on Wednesday. "
June 26, 2025 -
Child soldiers of Korean War still waiting for recognition
Park Tae-seung, 92, vividly remembers the day he was conscripted into the South Korean military to fight against North Koreans. It was near the end of August 1950, only three months after the 1950-53 Korean War began. He was 17. “Age didn’t really matter — if we were physically big enough, then the country deemed us sufficient to enter the war,” Park, who now lives in the quiet city of Yeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, told The Korea Herald on Wednesday. “I saw so many of us — both allies and
June 25, 2025