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U.S. Defense Strategy Signals Shift in Korea Alliance as Focus Turns to China

U.S. Defense Strategy Signals Shift in Korea Alliance as Focus Turns to China

WASHINGTON, Jan. 24 (Korea Bizwire) – A newly released U.S. defense strategy is signaling a subtle but consequential shift in Washington’s approach to the Korean Peninsula, raising the prospect of changes to the American military footprint in South Korea and placing new expectations on Seoul to assume greater responsibility for its own defense as the [...]

Seoul Seeks Talks With U.N. Command to Reopen DMZ Peace Trail Sections

Seoul Seeks Talks With U.N. Command to Reopen DMZ Peace Trail Sections

SEOUL, Jan. 22 (Korea Bizwire) – The unification ministry said Thursday it will seek consultations with the U.N. Command (UNC) over its move to reopen three shuttered trail sections within the inter-Korean buffer zone of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). In 2019, South Korea launched 11 trail routes, known as the DMZ Peace Trail, along key [...]

Military Urged to Expand RFID Tracking of Firearms to Prevent Accidents

Military Urged to Expand RFID Tracking of Firearms to Prevent Accidents

SEOUL, Jan. 21 (Korea Bizwire) – The military has been advised to swiftly adopt a radio frequency identification (RFID) system in handling firearms in a bid to prevent gun-related accidents and deaths in the military, the defense ministry said Wednesday. A special advisory committee comprising civilian, government and military officials made the recommendation as the [...]

Drone Boom Spurs Debate Over Some of the World’s Strictest Flight Rules

Drone Boom Spurs Debate Over Some of the World’s Strictest Flight Rules

SEOUL, Jan. 20 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea is confronting renewed debate over its drone regulations as the number of registered unmanned aircraft approaches 70,000 and hobbyists increasingly complain that the country’s rules are among the world’s most restrictive. Online forums and instructional videos about drones are frequently filled with frustrated comments from users who say [...]

Seoul Fields Hyunmoo-5 “Bunker-Buster” Missile to Counter North Korea Threat

Seoul Fields Hyunmoo-5 “Bunker-Buster” Missile to Counter North Korea Threat

SEOUL, Jan. 18 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea’s military has begun deploying the high-power Hyunmoo-5 ballistic missile, military sources said Sunday, as Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back called for a “balance of terror” to counter North Korea’s nuclear threat. The surface-to-surface missile — dubbed a “monster” because of its size — is designed to strike underground [...]

South Korea Weighs Joint Probe With North Over Alleged Drone Incursions

South Korea Weighs Joint Probe With North Over Alleged Drone Incursions

SEOUL, Jan. 12 (Korea Bizwire) – Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back said Monday he is open to the idea of proposing a joint probe with North Korea into its claim of drone incursions into the country through the United Nations Command (UNC). On Saturday, the North’s military claimed that South Korea violated the North’s sovereignty by [...]

South Korea Sees Limited Economic Fallout From U.S. Strike and North Korea Missile Launch

South Korea Sees Limited Economic Fallout From U.S. Strike and North Korea Missile Launch

SEOUL, Jan. 5 (Korea Bizwire) — The United States’ recent attack on Venezuela and North Korea’s ballistic missile launch are expected to have a limited impact on the South Korean economy, the finance ministry said Monday. The assessment was made in an emergency meeting held to review the economic situation following the recent events, which [...]

U.S. Forces in South Korea Reassess Role With Taiwan Contingency in Mind

U.S. Forces in South Korea Reassess Role With Taiwan Contingency in Mind

TOKYO,  Jan. 4 (Korea Bizwire) — The United States military in South Korea is reassessing the scope of its operations with an eye toward a potential conflict over Taiwan, a shift that would mark a significant broadening of the force’s traditional mission of deterring North Korea, according to a report published Sunday by Nikkei. The Japanese [...]

South Korea Condemns North Korea Missile Launches Ahead of China Summit

South Korea Condemns North Korea Missile Launches Ahead of China Summit

SEOUL,  Jan. 4 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s presidential national security team convened an emergency meeting Sunday after North Korea fired multiple ballistic missiles into the East Sea, an act Seoul condemned as a violation of United Nations resolutions. The meeting at Cheong Wa Dae was chaired by Deputy National Security Adviser Lim Jong-deuk and included [...]