Defense Ministry holds 1st evaluation meeting on wartime OPCON transition

South Korea's Defense Ministry held the first evaluation meeting Wednesday to discuss the transfer of wartime operational control, part of the Lee Jae Myung administration’s push to reclaim wartime command authority within President Lee's term. According to the ministry, the meeting was convened by Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back at the ministry’s main conference hall in Seoul. About 170 participants attended, including senior Defense Ministry officials, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff,

Jan. 28, 2026

South Korea launches dedicated unit for nuclear-powered submarines

South Korea’s Defense Ministry has established a dedicated unit to oversee the acquisition of a nuclear-powered submarine, as Seoul moves the project forward following recent discussions with the United States. The ministry said Wednesday that it had established the Nuclear-Powered Submarine Acquisition Promotion Team as a temporary task force under the Defense Policy Bureau, which oversees military capability development. Previously, related work had been handled by the Defense Policy Division

Jan. 28, 2026

N. Korea fires missiles after US defense official’s visit to S. Korea

North Korea launched multiple short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea on Tuesday afternoon, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said, marking its first such launch in 23 days. In a statement, the JCS said the South Korean military detected “several unidentified ballistic missiles” launched from areas north of Pyongyang toward the East Sea at around 3:50 p.m. In a follow-up notice, the JCS said the missiles were assessed to be short-range ballistic missiles and were found to have flown a

Jan. 27, 2026

North Korea launches missiles into East Sea: JCS

North Korea launched multiple unidentified projectiles into the East Sea Tuesday afternoon, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said. Military authorities did not immediately disclose further details, including the type or range of the projectiles. The launch marked the second such firing since Jan. 4, when North Korea launched several missiles toward the Sea of Japan. Those missiles flew more than 900 kilometers, a move widely seen as a protest against South Korean President Lee Jae Myung’s vis

Jan. 27, 2026

Marines chief gains authority over general-rank posts

The commander of South Korea’s Marine Corps has assumed authority over personnel matters involving general-rank officers from the Navy, officials said Monday, marking a key step in President Lee Jae Myung’s push to expand the Marines’ autonomy. According to the Navy and multiple military sources, the Navy chief of staff officially delegated disciplinary authority over Marine Corps general officers to the Marine Corps commander in December. In January, the authority was extended to recommending p

Jan. 26, 2026

Korean delegation visits Canada in high-level bid for submarine contract

A high-level South Korean delegation led by presidential chief of staff Kang Hoon-sik departed for Canada on Monday to advance Seoul's bid for a Canadian submarine project, as part of one of the Lee Jae Myung administration's flagship defense export initiatives. Kang, traveling as presidential special envoy for strategic economic cooperation — a post created for the drive to elevate South Korea into one of the world's top four defense exporters — underscored the stakes of the visit. "Large-scale

Jan. 26, 2026

[Exclusive] Osan Air Base security measure raises data breach concerns

Osan Air Base, a key hub for US-South Korea air operations, has become the center of controversy over how sensitive personal data of Korean nationals is handled — raising concerns about consent, oversight, and control over when such information is collected and retained by a foreign military authority. According to multiple sources on Sunday, the South Korean Air Force’s Operations Command — headquartered at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province — is collecting full resident registratio

Jan. 25, 2026

US senior defense policy official to visit Seoul amid talks on alliance shift

The United States' drive to increase the role played by its allies is likely to take more concrete shape following a senior US defense official's trip to Seoul days after the release of the Donald Trump administration's 2026 National Defense Strategy. According to the US Department of Defense, Elbridge Colby, undersecretary of defense for policy, is traveling to South Korea and Japan to meet with defense and government officials. US defense officials said Colby departed for Asia on Saturday. Whi

Jan. 25, 2026

S. Korea capable of taking primary responsibility to deter NK with 'critical, but more limited' US support: NDS

South Korea is capable of taking "primary" responsibility to deter North Korean threats with "critical, but more limited" US support, a new US national defense strategy showed Friday, an assessment in line with the Trump administration's calls for allies to do more for their own defense. In its National Defense Strategy, the Pentagon also said that the shift "in the balance of responsibility" is consistent with America's interest in updating US force posture in Korea, as it seeks to "modernize"

Jan. 24, 2026

Defense minister urges arms makers to strengthen cooperation

Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back on Friday urged major defense firms to take a leading role in building a cooperative industrial ecosystem, calling the current moment a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” for South Korea to rise as one of the world’s top four arms exporters. According to the Defense Ministry, Ahn made the remarks during a meeting with the chief executives of major and mid-sized defense companies held at the Defense Convention Center in Seoul earlier in the day. The gathering, the firs

Jan. 23, 2026

Training through the freeze

As a severe cold snap continues to grip South Korea, the military is pressing ahead with cold-weather training drills to maintain operational readiness in extreme conditions. The Army Special Warfare Command said Thursday that it has been conducting snow and cold-weather survival training at a winter training site in Daegwallyeong, Gangwon Province, since January, with the drills set to continue through February. Each unit undergoes an intensive 11-night, 12-day schedule designed to build endura

Jan. 22, 2026

Drone command should disband: ministry study

The Drone Operations Command, a unit overseeing the South Korean armed forces' drone assets and operations, should be disbanded, a special advisory committee under the Ministry of Defense said Tuesday. The recommendation was included in a set of proposals released by the special advisory committee on future strategy under the Ministry of Defense. The joint panel, composed of civilian, military and government officials, was launched in September 2025 to examine military units linked to the Dec. 3

Jan. 20, 2026

Military advised to establish joint operations command to prepare for wartime control transfer

A special advisory committee tasked with reforming the military has called for establishing a joint operations command as South Korea pushes for a handover of wartime operational control from Washington, the defense ministry said Tuesday. The recommendation by the committee, comprising civilian, government and military officials, comes as South Korea seeks to achieve the conditions-based OPCON handover from Washington within President Lee Jae Myung's five-year term ending in 2030. "(The committe

Jan. 20, 2026

Politics should not dictate scale of South Korea-US joint drills: think tank

South Korea-US military drills should not be affected by political judgment or public sentiment, a think-tank said Monday, even as the Lee Jae Myung administration continues efforts to engage North Korea. The state-affiliated Korea Institute for Defense Analyses, said in a report released Monday that politicizing joint exercises could heighten security uncertainty in Northeast Asia and weaken alliance cohesion, particularly amid an evolving threat environment and ongoing discussions over the tra

Jan. 19, 2026

S. Korea fields Hyunmoo-5 missile as North Korea’s nuclear threat grows

South Korea has begun deploying the high-power Hyunmoo-5 surface-to-surface ballistic missile to front-line operational units, as Seoul steps up efforts to counter North Korean threats, military sources said Sunday. Dubbed a “monster missile” because of its size and destructive power, the Hyunmoo-5 is a conventional weapon designed to destroy deeply buried bunkers, including hardened command facilities believed to be used by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. The missile is assessed to carry a war

Jan. 18, 2026