On August 21, South Korea’s Defense Ministry announced it has concluded an review of a 2009 decision to deploy seven Cheolomae-II medium-range missile batteries by 2023. Cheolomae-II is a South Korean manufactured medium-range surface-to-air missile (SAM). The Ministry considered reducing the number of deployed batteries in response to recent easing of tensions with North Korea...
On July 10, news sources reported that South Korea will develop its own air-to-ground cruise missile, with a potential initial operating capability (IOC) in the next several years. The missile will outfit the KF-X fighter jet, which is expected to enter service around 2026, according to a South Korean Agency for Defense Development (ADD) official...
On June 26, the U.S. Department of Defense announced that it will move forward with existing plans to upgrade South Korea’s missile defense systems. Director of the U.S. Missile Defense Agency Lieutenant General Samuel Greaves discussed the improvements, which include strengthening deployed Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) systems and procuring more PAC-3 MSEs (Missile...
On March 19, South Korean media reported that the ROK Army will deploy a new guided missile unit to counter North Korea’s long-range artillery sites. “The Ministry of National Defense has approved a plan to create an artillery brigade under a ground forces operations command to be inaugurated in October. The plan is to be...
On March 13, a South Korean official announced a contract to purchase 90 Taurus 350K long-range cruise missiles. “The contract was signed in late February,” said Kang Hwan-seok, spokesman for the ROK’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA). This acquisition will supplement South Korea’s existing stockpile of 170 Taurus missiles, purchased in 2013. The Taurus has...
On March 8, the White House announced President Trump had accepted an invitation from North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to meet for negotiations over its nuclear program. The invitation was conveyed by South Korean officials in a meeting with President Trump, with the meeting scheduled to take place by May. The announcement came as a...
On February 7, South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) announced its intent purchase additional Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) Missile Segment Enhancement (MSE) interceptors from the United States. The estimated $53 million contract will go through the U.S. Foreign Military Sales program, with an undisclosed number of interceptors scheduled for delivery after 2020. Related Links:...
In a nuclear world, nuclear weapons are needed to deter major attacks, but who should possess these instruments of deterrence? Today the challenge of keeping nonnuclear states from going nuclear may be growing, perhaps nowhere quite as much as in northeast Asia...
For the next two days, the United States, Japan, and South Korea will conduct a joint missile tracking exercise in the Sea of Japan. The exercise will include Aegis-equipped destroyers conducting computer-simulated training for submarine missile launches by North Korea, according to South Korean military officials. The drill comes as experts speculate that North Korea...
South Korea will increase its defense budget by 7 percent next year, raising the amount to 43.2 trillion won (39.7 billion USD). The budget allocates 4.3 trillion won to the “three-axis defense platform,” which includes the Kill Chain Preemptive Strike System, Korean Air and Missile Defense (KAMD), and the Korea Massive Punishment and Retaliation (KMPR)...
