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South Korean dignitaries placed white chrysanthemums on a funeral altar Saturday for two marines killed in a North Korean bombardment, as the country prepared military maneuvers with the U.S. that have enraged the North and concerned China. The South Korean marines commander vowed "thousand-fold" retaliation following Tuesday's attack on a South Korean island, which also killed two civilians in one of the worst artillery attacks on the country's territory since the 1950-53 Korean War. North Korea issued new warnings Saturday against the war games scheduled to start Sunday with a U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier in the Yellow Sea, calling them...

Two Air Force pilots were killed when an RF-4C reconnaissance plane crashed into a mountain in North Jeolla Province on Friday during a low-altitude training mission. The Air Force is investigating whether the crash was due to mechanical problems or pilot error. The crash was the third one so far this year for the Air Force after F5 fighter jets crashed in March and June. The three crashes this year involved different aircraft, but all are more than 30 years old. The RF-4C was produced in the U.S. in 1966, and the Air Force bought and recycled them in 1990s...

Seoul seeking to export 500 trainer jets to U.S. November 03, 2010 Korea is seeking to export as many as 500 supersonic trainer jets to the United States, whose Air Force is considering replacing its aging fleet of trainer aircraft, a government official said yesterday. The U.S. Air Force is reviewing options on whether to upgrade the aging T-38 trainer jets or replace them with new ones, with a decision expected by 2012, the official said. The official added that a team of U.S. inspectors visited Seoul this year to check the performance of the Korean-built T-50 trainer jets. “If...

South Korea and the United States have decided not to hold a joint naval drill, which was expected to take place in the Yellow Sea late this month, in consideration of geopolitical conditions ahead of an upcoming Seoul G-20 economic summit, defense sources said Sunday. "For the time being, there will be no joint aircraft carrier strike group exercise that South Korea and the U.S. considered holding late this month," a high-level government source said, requesting anonymity. "A training involving a U.S. aircraft carrier will not be held within this year." The allies initially planned to hold the exercise joined...

Kwangju Air Base, Republic of Korea, is hosting the fourth annual MAX THUNDER exercise, a bi-lateral training exercise with ROK military forces. The exercise will occur in western airspace over the Korean Peninsula between ROK and U.S. allied air forces. Republic of Korea Air Force aircrew members will train alongside U.S. Air Force aircrew during this exercise which employs scenarios comparable to RED FLAG at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev. According to base officials, although MAX THUNDER will not have the same airspace, ranges and threat replication capabilities like those at RED FLAG, USAF and RoKAF Airmen will receive a...

1 in 5 Imported Navy Missiles Misses Target Some missiles imported by the Navy have an accuracy rate of less than 80 percent, according to data submitted to the National Assembly's Defense Committee on Tuesday. Five of 23 missiles which the Navy test-fired between July 2008 and this July failed to hit their targets –- three of nine SM-2 missiles made by Raytheon in the U.S., one of 12 Sea-Skua missiles by the U.K's MBDA, and one of two Harpoon missiles by the U.S.' Boeing. The Navy attributed the low accuracy to mishandling of the missiles by the operators and...

– The United States and South Korea today announced a series of military exercises designed to send a strong, clear message to North Korea to stop its provocative and warlike acts. Video U.S. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and Republic of Korea National Defense Minister Kim Tae-young released a joint statement on the exercises following meetings here. The first in a series is a combined maritime and air readiness exercise named Invincible Spirit. About 8,000 U.S. and ROK military personnel will participate. The exercise is in response to the unprovoked attack on and sinking of the South Korean frigate Cheonan...

The Chinese Ministry of National Defense announced on June 24 that all vessels would be prohibited from entering areas located east of Zhoushan to Taizhou city in Zhejiang in the East China Sea from June 30 to July 5. During that time period, the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) conducted a six-day, live ammunition drill in a move that analysts say may be in response to a planned joint exercise between the United States and Republic of Korea (ROK) navies in the Yellow Sea. In spite of a lack of expert agreement over Chinese intentions, one aspect of the exercise...

South Korea Develops Cruise Missile That Can Fly 1,500 Kilometres South Korea Develops Cruise Missile That Can Fly 1,500 Kilometres SEOUL, July 17 (Bernama) -- South Korea has developed an indigenous cruise missile with a range of up to 1,500 kilometers and plans to deploy it along the border with North Korea later this year, a defence official, quoted by Yonhap news agency, said on Saturday. The previous version of the Hyunmoo missile had a range of only 1,000km. Under an agreement with the United States, South Korea is allowed to extend the range of its cruise missiles without restriction...

The U.N. Security Council adopted a statement Friday condemning the attack that led to the sinking of a South Korean warship without directly linking North Korea to the incident. The 15-member council unanimously approved the statement one day after five veto-wielding members, including the North's major ally China, agreed to a draft statement. China succeeded in diluting the statement, as it did not point the finger at North Korea and included North Korea's denial of involvement in the incident, which killed 46 sailors in the Yellow Sea in March. "The Security Council condemns the attack which led to the sinking...

US has to pay for provoking China * Source: Global Times * [03:14 July 06 2010] The widely anticipated and repeatedly postponed joint exercise between the US and South Korean navies in the Yellow Sea is still in the air. Yet the signs are that the other shoe will eventually drop in a week or two despite China's strong opposition. True, the US has the right to play its war game against the imagined threat from North Korea on the high seas. But the anxiety on the Chinese side will be huge if a US aircraft carrier enters the sea...

ONE of the students at my university was killed in the attack that sank a South Korean naval vessel on March 26. A visual communications major, Mun Yeong-uk was only a few months from concluding his military service when a North Korean torpedo split the warship, the Cheonan, in half. His classmates loyally collected money for his family’s funeral expenses, but I was struck by how few people on our campus evinced any real anger toward the regime of Kim Jong-il. This lack of indignation is mainstream here. Most people now accept North Korea’s responsibility for the sinking that killed...

Fellow Koreans, I am standing here today, keenly aware that the Korean Peninsula is facing a critical turning point. My fellow citizens, The Cheonan was sunk by a surprise North Korean torpedo attack. Again, the perpetrator was North Korea. Their attack came at a time when the people of the Republic of Korea were enjoying their well-earned rest after a hard day’s work. Once again, North Korea violently shattered our peace. The sinking of the Cheonan constitutes a military provocation against the Republic of Korea by North Korea. Since the end of the Korean War, the North has perpetrated incessant...

South Korea's defense chief said Monday his military will launch its own anti-proliferation exercise and resume psychological warfare against North Korea, as parts of its initial military measures to punish Pyongyang for a deadly torpedo attack on a South Korean warship in March. The planned military exercise scheduled to take place in the second half of the year to deter proliferation of North Korean weapons of mass destruction will be the first of its kind by the South's military. Defense Minister Kim Tae-young also said the South would actively participate in a U.S.-led anti-proliferation drill, known as the Proliferation of...

South Korea said Monday it will unhesitatingly exercise its right of self-defense in the event of future armed provocation by North Korea and freeze all of its remaining exchanges with the communist neighbor, except for Kaesong industrial park. Announcing a set of tough punitive steps against Pyongyang for its fatal attack on one of its warships in March, President Lee Myung-bak said his government will request the U.N. Security Council take up the case."From now on, the Republic of Korea will not tolerate any provocative act by the North and will maintain a principle of proactive deterrence," the president said...

President Barack Obama has directed the U.S. military to coordinate with South Korea to "ensure readiness" and deter future aggression from North Korea, the White House said on Monday. The United States gave strong backing to plans by South Korean President Lee Myung-bak to punish North Korea for sinking one of its naval ships, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said in a statement. The White House urged North Korea to apologize and change its behavior, he said. "We endorse President Lee's demand that North Korea immediately apologize and punish those responsible for the attack, and, most importantly, stop its belligerent...

South Korea's conservative government is expected to drop the Defense Reform 2020, a long-term military project crafted by the previous liberal leadership. In the first meeting of the Commission for National Security Review, organized following the sinking of the warship Cheonan in march, President Lee Myung-Bak ordered his Cabinet to review Defense Reform 2020 to better counter threats from the hostile communist neighbor. Defense Reform 2020 was adopted by former President Roh Moo-Hyun, who pushed for reconciliation with the North. It was designed to make South Korea's military less dependent on the United States and called for a reduction of...

So now it's official: North Korea did it. In the early morning hours of March 26 an explosion tore through the hull of the South Korean naval vessel Cheonan, which was sailing in waters not far from the disputed maritime boundary with the North. The 1,200-ton patrol boat split in two and sank, and 46 sailors lost their lives. The cause of the disaster wasn't immediately obvious. No one claimed responsibility for an attack, and some sort of accident was, of course, within the realm of possibility. So the South Korean government launched a probe to figure out what happened....

The official investigation is over. After weeks of careful technical review, an expert team of South Korean, US and European investigators believe that a North Korean torpedo blew in half and sunk a South Korean Navy corvette on March 26. The torpedo not only struck its immediate intended target (killing 46 sailors in the process), but has also undermined planned nuclear arms talks. On Thursday, officials in Seoul released critical evidence with photos of the recovered wreckage showing colossal damage to the keel. The Ministry of National Defense simulated striking the ROKS Cheonan near the ship’s gas turbine room—a strike...

South Korea has concluded that a North Korean torpedo sank one of its warships in March, killing 46 sailors, according to government officials and domestic news reports on Tuesday. South Korean officials are preparing to announce the results of their investigation later this week. The much anticipated finding will accuse North Korea of committing one of the worst military provocations on the Korean Peninsula since the end of the Korean War, deepening tensions between the countries. North Korea, denying involvement in the sinking, has vowed to retaliate against any attempt to link it with the March 26 explosion that broke...