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More Israeli-made Spike missiles with the maximum range of 25 km will be installed in maritime helicopters ready for deployment next year. Several Spike missiles are already installed on vehicles defending the northwesternmost islands. But the new lot will be mounted on Wildcat maritime choppers to be purchased over the next two years, an official with the Defense Acquisition Program Administration said Friday. "We've recently struck a deal with the Israeli manufacturer of the missile." The Spike missile is allegedly capable of hitting a window-size target 25 km away guided by infrared. An officer said the missile can hit the...

The U.S. is sending an additional Army combat force of 800 soldiers to South Korea with tanks and armored troop carriers. A brief Pentagon announcement said the 1st Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment from the 1st Cavalry Division at Fort Hood, Texas, will deploy to two locations in South Korea on Feb. 1....

The F-15K Slam Eagle of the Republic of Korea Air Force is currently considered the most advanced fighter in Northeast Asia when compared to its Chinese and Japanese counterparts, the Hong Kong-based Ta Kung Pao reports. After Beijing established its air defense identification zone on Nov. 23, tensions between China, Japan and South Korea have heightened over the disputed East China Sea. There are disputes between China and Japan over the Diaoyutai (called the Diaoyu in China, the Senkaku in Japan and the Diaoyutai in Taiwan), between China and South Korea over Socotra Rock (called Ieodo in South Korea and...

North Korea has sent a fax to South Korea threatening to “strike mercilessly without notice” after protests against the secretive regime. The message warned that North Korea would strike if “the provocation against our highest dignity is to be repeated in the downtown of Seoul.” The fax addresses protests earlier this week in which conservative protesters rallied in Seoul, burning effigies of the country’s leaders as well as its flag during an anti-North Korean rally on the second death anniversary of former leader Kim Jong Il. …

By Kang Seung-woo and Joint Press Corps BAGHDAD ― Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) signed a $1.1 billion (1.1 trillion won) contract to sell 24 FA-50 light attack aircraft to Iraq, Thursday, the most lucrative defense export deal by local players. In Baghdad, KAI CEO Ha Sung-yong and Iraqi Prime Minster Nouri al-Maliki signed the deal. The Korean defense contractor is set to deliver the jets between October 2015 and October 2016. In addition, the two sides are on the verge of reaching another agreement including pilot training and logistical support with an estimated value of $1 billion. “The contract is...

By Kim Tae-gyu Korea plans to build three more Aegis destroyers to double the total number to six at a time when the country faces multiple challenges including the North Korean threats and lingering territorial disputes with both Japan and China. A military source who is familiar with the issue said Sunday the decision to augment the Navy would be made during a Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) meeting slated for Dec. 22. “The Navy requested three additional Aegis ships a year ago and the JCS was poised to discuss the issue at last month’s meeting,” said the source who...

Korea will purchase four in-flight refueling tankers from 2017, the nation’s arms procurement agency said Wednesday. The decision comes amid the growing importance of improved airborne operations due to China’s self-declared controversial Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ). According to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), the military decision-making committee, chaired by Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin, decided to import four aerial refueling tankers. It usually takes two to three years before finalizing the delivery of four aircraft. “We intend to give public notice of a bid in January 2014 and select a final bidder within the same year after going through...

South Korea will obtain 40 Lockheed Martin F-35A fighters under its F-X III requirement. A report by state news agency Yonhap quotes the country’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) as saying that Seoul will obtain 40 F-35s starting in 2018, with an option to buy 20 more aircraft. The deal will be conducted through the US government’s Foreign Military Sales mechanism. "The F-35A will be used as a strategic weapon to gain a competitive edge and defeat the enemy in the early stage of war," Yonhap quotes the JCS as saying. "The South Korean military will also use the aircraft...

Nov 15 (Reuters) - South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff were expected to endorse an "all F-35 buy" of 40 Lockheed Martin Corp F-35 fighter jets and an option for 20 more at a meeting on Nov. 22, two sources familiar with the competition said on Friday. The Joint Chiefs' decision must be approved by a committee chaired by the South Korean defense minister at a meeting in early December, according to the sources, who declined to be identified because they were not authorized to speak publicly. A decision by the Joint Chiefs to purchase only F-35s would be a...

Construction of a natural gas pipeline from Russia to South Korea is still possible despite obvious difficulties in its implementation and the development of new Russian LNG projects aimed at Asian exports, President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday. Russia is actively developing LNG projects, including in the northern Yamal Peninsula and in its Far Eastern regions, in the proximity to South Korea, but supplies of pipeline gas to this Asian country are also possible, Putin said in an interview with South Korea's KBS, broadcast by state-run Russian 24 TV network. One of the option to organize pipeline gas supplies is to...

A South Korean man is behind bars in the Rio Grande Valley after being arrested in a failed to plot to smuggle Asian immigrants. U.S. Border Patrol agents arrested 53-year-old Gwang Jun Han in Brownsville on Sunday evening. Federal court records show Han was involved in a disturbance with two men. Brownsville police detained three illegal immigrants from China and another one from South Korea at the scene. Border Patrol agents learned that one man at the scene had paid Han to smuggle two of his adult children from China. Han appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Ronald Morgan in Brownsville...

Nov 4 (Reuters) - A retired top U.S. Air Force general on Monday said South Korea will need Boeing Co F-15 fighter jets in the short term since Lockheed Martin Corp's F-35 will not be able to carry a full load of weapons until after South Korea needs to replace its aging F-4 and F-5 fighters. Ron Fogleman, who works as a consultant to Boeing and also heads the board of Alliant Techsystems Inc, a big F-35 supplier, said South Korea would eventually need some F-35s, with their greater "stealth" or ability to evade enemy radar. But Boeing's F-15 offered...

Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) has displayed two conceptual models for the country’s proposed KFX indigenous fighter programme at the Seoul International Aerospace & Defense Exhibition. One model represents KAI’s in-house proposal for the programme, while the other represents the ambitions of Seoul’s Agency for Defense Development (ADD). KAI’s proposal is for a single-engined aircraft based largely on systems developed for the country’s T-50 advanced jet trainer. The company feels that this approach would be more cost effective and draw from its experience with the T-50, which had extensive design input from Lockheed Martin. Greg Waldron/Flightglobal The ADD concept is a...

The Ministry of Health and Welfare said yesterday it will allow doctors to perform remote-patient monitoring and treatment via telecommunications technology in 2015 to extend care to patients in far-flung areas. Remote monitoring is allowed for a limited number of diseases, but the ministry prohibits health care professionals from delivering treatment via telecommunications. “The advancement in technology signals that it’s high time to embrace telemedicine,” said Kwon Deok-cheol, a director of the ministry’s health care policy division, during a briefing. “Remote treatment will give us greater access to people in remote areas. It can also help doctors better assist patients...

One of the most critical changes in global energy flows happened this week. China inaugurated a 2,500 kilometre pipe to carry natural gas and oil from the Indian Ocean across Myanmar in southeast Asia and into southwest Yunnan province. The gas portion of the line became fully operational this week. The line is expected to carry over 1 billion cubic feet of gas per day into China. The twin oil line is expected to follow. This massive development has several key implications for the global energy balance. Myanmar's significant offshore natural gas reserves (and growing production) now have a "go-to"...

WASHINGTON/SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea is nearing a decision to buy some Lockheed Martin Corp F-35 fighter jets, but will likely keep its options open for a limited purchase of Boeing Co's F-15, sources familiar with the country's fighter competition said on Wednesday. South Korean officials could announce their plans as early as November to secure the funding needed to ensure initial deliveries of the F-35 in 2017, according to multiple sources who were not authorized to speak publicly. They cautioned that the decisions were not yet final, and an announcement could still be postponed if the decision-making process hits...

Korea is to get its first nude beach on the east coast in Gangwon Province. The Gangwon provincial government on Tuesday said it wants to set up the nude beach by 2017 to invigorate tourism. The site will be selected from recommendations or in a competition next year. It will open in 2017 once facilities have been installed and access to outsiders restricted. The regional government wants to benchmark popular nude beaches abroad.

SEOUL - South Korea has taken delivery of its first cargo shipped by a Korean firm via the Northern Sea route, as the government looks to increase use of the new shipping route opened up through the Arctic. A vessel chartered by Hyundai Glovis took 35 days to deliver a 44,000 ton cargo of naphtha from Port Ust Luga in Russia to Gwangyan Port, about 350 km (220 miles) south of Seoul, arriving late Monday, the Korean Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries said on Tuesday. Cargoes of coal, diesel and gas have made the trip through the new route opened...

China Asked Korea Not to Sell Jets to Philippines China asked Korea not to sell FA-50 fighter jets to the Philippines, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported Saturday. The daily said Beijing made the request ahead of a summit in Seoul between President Park Geun-hye and Philippines President Benigno Aquino on Oct. 17. Korea declined, saying it cannot accept "interference" in arms exports, an issue of its national interest, according to the daily. In their meeting, Park thanked Aquino for Manila’s decision to buy the FA-50 jets and urged a speedy signing of the contract. A government official here said, "The Philippines...

A Palestinian girl has won the top prize at an essay contest held by Korea University. In an essay describing her reflections on how she became a fan of Korean pop music and dramas, Samir Maisa (19), a student at Al Quds University in Palestine, wrote, "I heard a saying that there are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle. I decided to choose the latter." She said that Korean dramas appeared in her life one day like a "miracle" to give her...