ABOARD THE ROKS MARADO, May 31 (Korea Bizwire) — Multinational maritime drills aimed at preventing the trafficking of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) kicked off Wednesday, as North Korea’s attempt to put its first spy satellite into orbit failed. The Eastern Endeavor 23 drills, which were staged in a scaled back manner due to poor [...]
SEOUL, May 31 (Korea Bizwire) — The Seoul city government on Wednesday erroneously sent out an emergency alert advising citizens to prepare for evacuation after North Korea’s launch of what appeared to be a space launch vehicle. The mobile phone alert was sent to all citizens at 6:41 a.m., shortly after the Joint Chiefs of [...]
BUSAN, May 29 (Korea Bizwire) — A new project is underway to renovate the U.N. Memorial Cemetery in the southeastern port city of Busan, with the aim of revitalizing the atmosphere of reverence and improving the organization of the area. The city government on Sunday announced its plan to convert approximately 176,000 square meters of [...]
POCHEON, May 25 (Korea Bizwire) — In the midst of persistent North Korean military threats, South Korea and the United States conducted their largest-ever combined live-fire drills Thursday, driving home an impactful message: The alliance will only grow stronger to achieve “peace through strength.” The Combined Joint Live-Fire Exercise, the first of its kind in [...]
SEOUL, May 23 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea is considering requiring soon-to-be conscripts to take drug tests, the defense ministry said Tuesday, in a stepped-up fight against illegal drugs. The ministry unveiled the move as part of its anti-drug measures, after the military saw a sharp rise in drug cases to 30 last year from [...]
SEOUL, May 19 (Korea Bizwire) — The Navy held a ceremony Friday to formally place into service a new frigate named after a warship torpedoed by North Korea in 2010, officials said. The commissioning ceremony for the 2,800-ton Cheonan, took place at a key naval base in Changwon, about 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul, according [...]
BUSAN/CHANGWON, May 18 (Korea Bizwire) — A patrol aircraft emerged from heavy fog to drop sonar devices around a key guided-missile destroyer as part of South Korea’s Navy drills to track and destroy a simulated North Korean submarine. A maritime helicopter then flew in close to the 7,600-ton Aegis-equipped warship, ROKS Sejong the Great, and [...]
BUSAN, May 17 (Korea Bizwire) —SNT Motiv announced on Wednesday that it has entered into a contract with the Korea Defense Acquisition Program Administration to supply the ‘Special Operations Submachine Gun Type II Project.’ The project aims to provide modern rifles for special forces engaged in activities such as counter-terrorism and open warfare. These rifles [...]
SEOUL, May 17 (Korea Bizwire) — The South Korean Air Force’s Black Eagles aerobatic team left the country Wednesday to join a biennial air show in Malaysia slated to kick off next week, the armed service said. The Air Force has mobilized nine T-50B jets and three C-130 transport planes, as well as 110 personnel, [...]
SEOUL, May 16 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s homegrown KF-21 fighter jet passed a provisional combat suitability evaluation earlier this week, the state arms procurement agency said Tuesday, in a key milestone ahead of its initial production phase set to begin next year. The Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) said the evaluation by the Joint [...]