South Korea delivered the first Geomdoksuri-B Batch II fast patrol craft to the Navy on Friday, strengthening its frontline maritime capabilities near the Northern Limit Line, the de facto inter-Korean sea border. The Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) held a delivery ceremony at HJ Shipbuilding & Construction’s Yeongdo shipyard in Busan on Friday. The Geomdoksuri-B program is designed to replace the Navy’s aging Chamsuri-cl
Alumni associations of South Korea’s Army, Navy and Air Force academies urged Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back on Wednesday to reconsider the government’s plan to merge the three service academies, with Ahn saying he would remain open to their concerns. Leaders of the three alumni associations met Ahn to raise concerns over the proposed integration and argue that the government’s reform goals could be achieved without merging the existing acad
The next contest for military power is no longer simply about who has the best weapons or even the most powerful artificial intelligence. It is increasingly about who controls the AI when the shooting starts. The United States has demonstrated the advantage of combining its AI software edge with military might. Japan, China and South Korea are now pursuing different strategies to ensure that critical military capabilities do not become dependent on technolog
South Korea's Defense Ministry said Tuesday it will push to temporarily relocate military operations from Gwangju Air Base to other bases by mid-2028, clearing the way for the site to be developed as part of a major semiconductor cluster. “Consultations have continued throughout the process at various levels, including involving the defense minister, vice minister and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff,” the Defense Ministry spokesperson s
South Korea and the United States will stage their annual Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise from Aug. 17 to 27 in what will double as a test of Seoul’s push to advance the transfer of wartime operational control (OPCON) even as questions remain over whether a Korean-led command is ready for the full demands of war. The Joint Chiefs of Staff and the South Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command announced the schedule during a joint briefing Monday, describing UF
A U.S. Forces Korea air defense unit recently deployed to Palau in the western Pacific for live-fire surface-to-air missile drills as part of a multinational exercise led by U.S. Army Pacific. The 35th Air Defense Artillery Brigade, assigned to the U.S. Eighth Army in South Korea, participated in Tenacious Archer 2026, according to information released by the U.S. military. Tenacious Archer is an annual multinational air and missile defense exercise condu
The South Korean Army plans to replace traditional keys and handwritten logs used to manage gun cabinets with a digital authentication system, as part of efforts to improve security and reduce administrative work. The Army announced the plan Friday during a logistics policy briefing at its Consolidated Logistics Depot in Sejong, led by Maj. Gen. Ha Heon-cheol, chief of logistics. Under current rules, military gun cabinets are secured with two separate loc
Wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, together with growing doubts about U.S. security guarantees, are driving a global revival of military conscription as governments conclude that technology alone cannot supply enough soldiers for a prolonged conflict. Royalty is no exception. Princess Isabella, second in line to the Danish throne, made international headlines on Monday when she reported to a military barracks in Slagelse to begin 11 months of military s
The Republic of Korea Navy has appointed Capt. Bae Sun-young as commanding officer of ROKS Dokdo, making her the first woman to command one of the service’s major vessels. Bae will formally take command of the ship on Wednesday, the Navy said Tuesday. Captains are the highest-ranking commanding officers assigned to Navy ships and lead major vessels such as amphibious assault ships, destroyers and large logistics support ships. No female officer had
South Korea has added another domestically developed Cheongung-II missile defense system to its network, putting the first system scheduled under its 2026 fielding plan into operation, the Defense Ministry said Tuesday. Cheongung-II, also known as the M-SAM-II, is a medium-range surface-to-air missile system designed to intercept incoming ballistic missiles at lower altitudes during the terminal phase of flight. The latest system was deployed to a missile
