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Army drone flights partly suspended after crash with helicopter
Partial suspension won't affect reconnaissance operations, JCS says South Korea’s Army has temporarily suspended parts of its uncrewed vehicle flight operations following a military drone’s crash with a stationary helicopter the previous day, officials said Tuesday. “The Army has partially suspended (its uncrewed vehicle flight operations) to investigate the accident,” Lt. Col. Yang Seung-kwan, a spokesperson for the Joint Chiefs of Staff said during a regular briefing. He declined to elaborate
March 18, 2025 -
Arms agency chief discusses defense industry cooperation with Philippine defense chief
The head of the state arms procurement agency held talks with the Philippine defense chief and other officials in Manila this week to discuss expanding arms industry cooperation, officials said Tuesday. Seok Jong-gun, minister of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, met Philippine Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro on Monday, according to DAPA. The Philippines has introduced various South Korean-made weapons systems over the years, including FA-50 light attack aircraft, frigates and co
March 18, 2025 -
Military partially resumes live-fire drills after accidental fighter jet bombing
The defense ministry said Tuesday it has partially resumed live-fire military drills after their full suspension due to an accidental fighter jet bombing earlier this month. On March 6, two KF-16 fighter jets mistakenly bombed a town in Pocheon, some 40 kilometers north of Seoul, during live-fire drills, injuring 38 people and prompting the ministry to suspend all exercises involving live ammunition. The ministry said it will resume live-fire drills involving rifles and smaller firearms Tuesday
March 18, 2025 -
Military drone crash destroys $14m helicopter
A South Korean Army helicopter was destroyed by fire after it was struck by a drone, the Army reported Monday. According to the Army Ground Operations Command, around 1 p.m. Monday at a military airfield in Yangju, Gyeonggi Province, a military drone collided with a parked helicopter during landing, sparking a fire. “There were no casualties from the fire,” the command said, adding that the cause of the incident and the full extent of the damage are under investigation. The fire was extinguished
March 17, 2025 -
S. Korea begins annual excavation project for fallen soldiers of Korean War
The defense ministry said Monday it began an annual project to recover the remains of soldiers killed during the 1950-53 Korean War, seeking to find more than 220 missing service members this year. Since 2000, the ministry has been working to excavate and identify the remains of fallen soldiers of the conflict, finding the remains of 11,469 South Korean soldiers and 37 UN troops that fought against North Korean and Chinese forces. For this year, the ministry said it seeks to excavate over 220 se
March 17, 2025 -
Multiple Russian warplanes briefly enter S. Korea's air defense zone during training: JCS
Multiple Russian warplanes entered South Korea's air defense identification zone (KADIZ) in the East Sea on Saturday, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said, prompting the South to send its fighter jets in response. The Russian military planes consecutively entered the KADIZ at around 9:20 a.m. before exiting to the eastern and northern areas of the air defense zone, the JCS said in a notice. They did not violate South Korea's airspace, it added. The JCS said it had detected the Russian aircraft b
March 15, 2025 -
Two Air Force pilots booked over Pocheon bombing
Two South Korean Air Force jet pilots were booked Thursday, charged with occupational negligence over their accidental bombing of a civilian village last week, the Defense Ministry said. The Defense Ministry recently confirmed pilot error as the main cause of the accident on March 6, in which two KF-16 fighter jets dropped eight MK-82 bombs on a village in Pocheon, located near the inter-Korean border. The pilots failed to drop the bombs on the training range, which was located in the border cit
March 13, 2025 -
S. Korea, US Marines hold joint infantry drills
South Korean and US Marines have staged a 10-day joint infantry exercise, the South's Marine Corps said Wednesday, in continued efforts to enhance their combined combat capabilities. Some 440 troops from South Korea's 2nd Marine Division and the US 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force took part in the drills launched on March 3 and conducted in training facilities in Gimpo and Ganghwa, northwest of Seoul, according to the Marine Corps. In the first segment of the training, Marines from both sides were
March 12, 2025 -
Navy conducts maritime rescue drills in conjunction with joint exercise with US
The Navy conducted maritime search and rescue drills Wednesday in waters off the country's eastern coast as part of an annual combined exercise held between South Korea and the United States. The exercise, which mobilized a P-3 maritime patrol aircraft, two UH-60 helicopters and two CARV-Ⅱ aircraft, was designed to train troops to swiftly search for and rescue wounded service members and transfer them to a rear area while providing emergency care, according to the Navy. "The key of air search an
March 12, 2025 -
Air Force pilots in accidental bombing could face criminal charges: experts
Two KF-16 fighter jet pilots blamed for accidentally dropping bombs on a village in Pocheon last week could face criminal charges, experts said Tuesday. South Korea’s Air Force on Monday reaffirmed pilot error as the cause of the accident that left 31 people injured, including 19 civilians, in the village of Nogok-ri, Idong-myeon, Pocheon, near the inter-Korean border, last week. The Air Force stressed that the pilots failed to follow the mandatory procedure of checking the coordinates of their
March 11, 2025 -
South Korea, Europe draw closer, as Trump’s return reshapes security order
Korea holds 1st space security dialogue with EU, launches Indo-Pacific dialogue with Germany South Korea and the European Union held their first space security dialogue to enhance cooperation in countering escalating threats in outer space, as part of ongoing efforts for closer security alignment. The tighter cooperation comes amid the increasing interconnection of security between the Indo-Pacific region and Europe, as well as a shifting security landscape under US President Donald Trump, who h
March 11, 2025 -
North Korea slams South Korea-US military drill as preemptive strike rehearsal
North Korea denounced South Korea and the United States on Tuesday, claiming the two allies are using the annual Freedom Shield exercise ― a large-scale joint military drill that began the previous day ― as a rehearsal for a preemptive strike on its nuclear facilities. The Korean Central News Agency, a North Korean state-run media outlet, accused the two allies of escalating tensions on the Korean Peninsula by increasing the scale of their joint drills, referring to the Freedom Shield exercise.
March 11, 2025 -
Navy holds maritime drills against WMD proliferation
The Navy said Tuesday it conducted maritime drills aimed at curbing weapons of mass destruction proliferation in connection to an ongoing major South Korea-US military exercise. The WMD interdiction exercise took place in waters off the southwestern island of Gageodo, mobilizing three warships, including the ROKS Jeonbuk frigate, along with Navy special forces and a coast guard vessel, a day after the allies launched the annual Freedom Shield exercise. The maritime drills focused on detecting an
March 11, 2025 -
Air Force apologizes, reaffirms pilot error
Pilot failed to check coordinates 3 times in fighter jet bombing accident: Air Force South Korea's Air Force on Monday apologized for the accidental bombing of a civilian district last week, explaining that their pilots failed to follow the mandatory procedure of checking the coordinates at least three times. "We would like to again apologize for the concerns we have caused for South Korean citizens regarding the accidental bombing by our fighter jets on March 6," the Air Force said in a stateme
March 10, 2025 -
N. Korea launches ballistic missiles as S. Korea-US military drill begins
North Korea launched multiple ballistic missiles toward the West Sea on Monday, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff reported, in an apparent protest against South Korea and the United States' large-scale annual military drill. The JCS said in a message sent to press in Seoul that it detected North Korea launching multiple ballistic missiles from inland areas of the Hwanghae provinces toward the West Sea at around 1:50 p.m. "Our military has reinforced surveillance and vigilance while maintaining
March 10, 2025