SEOUL, Mar. 15 (Korea Bizwire) — The state arms procurement agency said Friday it has signed a 330.6 billion-won (US$250 million) contract with local defense company LIG Nex1 Co. for the development of a long-range ship-to-air missile by 2030. The two sides signed the deal Thursday for the air defense weapon to be equipped on [...]
SEOUL, Mar. 13 (Korea Bizwire) – A senior Iraqi Army general visited South Korea last week to look over a homegrown utility helicopter, sources said Wednesday, raising speculation over the Middle Eastern country’s potential purchase of the aircraft. Lt. Gen. Samir Zaki Hussein Al-Maliki, commander of Iraq’s Army Aviation Command, arrived in South Korea on [...]
SEOUL, Mar. 13 (Korea Bizwire) – In an effort to boost national defense capabilities against the escalating threat of drone-related incidents, South Korea’s Ministry of Science and ICT; the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport; and the National Intelligence Service have come together to establish dedicated anti-drone training facilities. This initiative was formalized through a Memorandum [...]
SEOUL, Mar. 12 (Korea Bizwire) — The foreign ministry said Tuesday it has been providing consular assistance to a South Korean national arrested in Russia reportedly on espionage charges. Russia’s TASS news agency reported Monday that South Korean citizen Baek Won-soon has been held in the Lefortovo detention facility in Moscow since late February, and [...]
SEOUL, Mar. 12 (Korea Bizwire) – The Navy plans to conduct a trial program that will allow sailors to use mobile phones with internet connection while out at sea in an effort to improve their living conditions, officials said Tuesday. The Navy currently restricts using mobile phones with such connection aboard warships due to security [...]
SEOUL, March 7 (Korea Bizwire) – The foreign ministry will scale back the bureau handling the North Korean nuclear issue and create a broader strategy department focused on foreign policy intelligence-gathering, officials said Thursday, a major shakeup that mirrors the prolonged impasse in nuclear talks with Pyongyang. The tentatively named Office of Strategy and Intelligence [...]
SEOUL, March 3 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea’s first military spy satellite has successfully transmitted “good-resolution” images of central Pyongyang back home following the satellite’s launch in December, military sources said Sunday. The first indigenous South Korean military spy satellite was placed into orbit from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Dec. 2, allowing [...]
TOKYO, Feb. 23 (Korea Bizwire) – On February 22, a significant controversy resurfaced as the Japanese government, local municipalities, and certain conservative media outlets reiterated their contentious claim over Dokdo, an islet Korea asserts sovereignty over, but Japan refers to as “Takeshima.” This assertion was made during the observance of what is known as “Takeshima Day,” [...]
WASHINGTON, Feb. 21 (Korea Bizwire) — With South Korea and the United States estranged from North Korea, cautious hopes are reemerging that Japan’s diplomatic outreach to Pyongyang could lead to an opening for the resumption of long-stalled diplomacy for peace with the recalcitrant regime. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has repeatedly expressed his intention to [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 22 (Korea Bizwire) — The top diplomats of South Korea and Indonesia have agreed to continue to work on the joint development of a fighter jet, a project in delay due to Jakarta’s suspended payment for its share, Seoul’s foreign ministry said Thursday. The discussion took place between Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul and [...]