Free Republic

A woman was sentenced to one year in prison on Tuesday for suffocating her unwanted baby right after birth. The 26-year-old, whose name was not released, delivered a baby boy at a toilet in her factory in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province in February. Soon after the birth, the woman stuffed toilet paper into his mouth. The accused “actively murdered the infant,” a judge at Gwangju District Court said. “The crime is very grave. It is unclear whether she sincerely regrets her act or even feels any guilt.” The woman conceived the child with her boyfriend, but was ashamed of being an...

Russia enters S. Korean tender with 5th-generation fighter Russia's Sukhoi T-50 PAK-FA fifth-generation fighter has been placed on a short list of a South Korean tender for the delivery of advanced fighter jets, a Russian arms industry think-tank said on Monday. Korea is seeking to buy 60 fighters with advanced stealth capability from a foreign aircraft maker in the biggest arms-procurement deal ever for the country with an estimated budget of $7.86 billion under a program code-named FX-III. Russia's Center for Analysis of World Arms Trade cited South Korean Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) as saying that Sukhoi's fighter would...

Four candidates short-listed in Korea's stealth jet project 2011-07-20 21:16 Korea will acquire a new generation of stealth fighter jets from overseas to better counter North Korean provocations, the local defense procurement agency said Wednesday. The Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) said it has narrowed down the candidates to four fighters: the F-15SE Silent Eagle by Boeing, F-35 Lightning II by Lockheed Martin, Eurofighter Typhoon by the European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company (EADS) and the T-50 PAK-FA by Russian firm Sukhoi. According to DAPA, the project to acquire 60 fifth-generation stealth fighters is worth 8.29 trillion won ($7.86 billion)....

Korean Defense Minister Says China's J-10 Rivals F-16 Play VOD SERVICE Korean Defense Minister, Kim Kwan-jin, visited an air force training base in Changzhou, China on Saturday and observed the J-10 fighter jet model, which was disclosed for the first time. After the tour of the base, Minister Kim told reporters that China's J-10 rivals US's F-16 fighter jet with an excellent ceiling capacity per second and short take-off and landing distance. As China's own fighter jet was disclosed for the first time, Korean defense authorities say it signals Beijing's wishes to strengthen its military ties with Seoul. JUL 18,...

Asia’s Next Fighter Project July 14, 2011 By Trefor Moss Indonesia and South Korea are working on a new fighter, the KFX. But is there really any need for the programme? An international consortium for the development of an advanced fighter aircraft? It sounds familiar – and the precedent isn’t encouraging. The programme to build the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) involving the United States and eight other countries has become a cautionary tale over the complexity and runaway expense of developing a next-generation fighter aircraft, even with the economies of scale that multinational participants are meant to...

Paramount and Marvel Studios have a bit of a marketing challenge on their hands with their upcoming Captain America: The First Avenger. Namely, how do you sell a pro-U.S.A superhero movie to the many regions of the globe that can't stand us? Their solution was to play it safe, and release the film in all foreign markets as just "The First Avenger." But then a wonderful thing happened. From the Times: [I]n a surprise, Paramount's overseas operation objected, arguing that Captain America had too much brand value, even in spots like France that are leery of embracing Team America too...

South Korea has joined with only two other countries in the world in dropping the name of the forthcoming film "Captain America" and using the subtitle, "The First Avenger." The other two countries are Russia and Ukraine. According to the New York Times report, "Although that country (South Korea) is one of Hollywood's top-performing territories, resentment about the continued presence of the United States military runs deep." For years now, I have intended to write a column about the most glaring case of international ingratitude of which I am aware. The "Captain America" story has finally pushed me over the...

South Korea has joined the only other two countries in the world that have dropped the name of the forthcoming film Captain America and replaced it with the subtitle, The First Avenger. The other two countries are Russia and Ukraine. According to the New York Times, “Although that country [South Korea] is one of Hollywood’s top-performing territories, resentment about the continued presence of the United States military runs deep.” For years now I have intended to write a column about the most glaring case of international ingratitude of which I am aware. The Captain America story has finally pushed me...

Indonesia-South Korea Fighter Jet Deal Readies for Take-Off Amid Expert Doubts Ismira Lutfia | July 12, 2011 Indonesia has taken a huge gamble in a deal with South Korea to manufacture a new type of fighter plane, an expert warned on Monday, with a real risk that the project could end in disaster. “The aim for transfer of technology is positive, but there is a basic problem in it,” said Connie Bakrie, a defense analyst from the University of Indonesia. “Will it be a cheaper and better fighter? Why don’t we buy planes already in operation?” The warning came as...

LOS ANGELES - Captain America will keep its patriotic full title in most of the world when the superhero adventure hits the big-screen. Paramount Pictures and Marvel Studios gave distributors around the world the option of shortening the title of "Captain America: The First Avenger" to simply "The First Avenger," out of concern about anti-American sentiment. But the only countries that took them up on it were Russia, Ukraine and South Korea. In other territories, the movie will go out with the full title, a sign that the brand value of the Marvel Comics hero trumps any potential anti-U.S. feelings...

Europe asks Korea to join Eurofighter program By Lee Tae-hoon A multination consortium in Europe has invited Korea to join its high-end jet production project in an apparent attempt to win what would be Korea’s biggest arms-procurement deal. The move came following Seoul’s announcement that it would purchase 60 advanced fighter aircraft in line with its push to shift the country’s military posture from passive defense to proactive deterrence with a projected budget of up to 10 trillion won ($8.96 billion). “We welcome the Korean industry to participate as EADS’s full member,” Erwin Obermeier, a senior advisor of export projects...

Korea to Export Military Vessels to India, Indonesia Korea is expected to sell minesweepers worth US$500 million to India and submarines worth $1-1.2 billion to Indonesia, a government official said on Thursday. They are the country's biggest arms exports so far, exceeding even the $400 million sale of T-50 supersonic trainer jets to Indonesia. "Outbidding an Italian rival early this year, a Korean firm has been chosen as the priority negotiating partner for India's minesweeper project," a government source said. "The negotiations are in their final stage and the contract will likely be signed as early as August." India is...

South Korea to invite bids for F-15K cruise missile By Greg Waldron South Korea is to invite bids for a new stealth cruise missile to equip its Boeing F-15K Slam Eagle, following technical glitches implementing Lockheed Martin's AGM-158 Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM). A source at the nation's Defense Acquisition Program Administration confirms that bidding for the missile will open in June. He would not divulge details about how many missiles South Korea intends to acquire, or the specific technical difficulties South Korea encountered trying to implement JASSM. Possible bidders in the South Korean competition could include Europe's MBDA with...

Seoul seeks to sell trainer jets to Peru By Lee Tae-hoon Korea is seeking to export basic trainer planes to Peru, but the prospect remains uncertain due to the political future of the South American country, arms trade officials said Friday. One official told The Korea Times asking for anonymity that Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) has offered to sell 25 KT-1 trainer jets at around $200 million ahead of the presidential election in Peru in June. Rep. Lee Sang-deuk, older brother of President Lee Myung-bak, also claimed that he received assurances from outgoing Peruvian President Alan Garcia earlier in the...

Police are investigating two explosions at Seoul Station and Gangnam Express Bus Terminal about 30 minutes apart on Thursday. There have been no reports of injuries yet from the two blasts, officials said. The explosions caused chaos with citizens hurriedly leaving the two public transportation hubs. Police have not ruled out the possibility of terrorism, officials said. The blast at the bus terminal in southern Seoul occurred around 11:55 a.m. What is presumed to have been a can of butane gas exploded in a locker in the waiting room at the terminal, police said. “There was the sound of an...

China’s no to Kim’s request North leader asked for 30 bomber jets May 09, 2011 BEIJING - North Korean leader Kim Jong-il requested the Chinese government support the North with the latest in military weapons during his trip to China last May, according to a source in Beijing yesterday. China turned down the request, he said. “Kim Jong-il returned to North Korea from China last May in a bad mood,” the source said. “There may have been other reasons as well, but one of them was the Chinese government’s rejection of his request.” Among the weapons that Kim asked for...

Calling a Rogue a Rogue May 6, 2011 By Apoorva Shah North Korea and Pakistan have many differences. But they also share some key similarities—not least a history of taking the US for a ride. For years, the threat of instability in North Korea and Pakistan has haunted US foreign policy, challenging the United States to develop an effective plan for confronting and reforming these unstable regimes. Yet success has been elusive. To date, the United States has approached its policy to these two high-risk countries separately. And, ostensibly, they do appear to be two very separate problems—North Korea has...

Turkey to domestically produce first tank soon 03 May 2011, Tuesday / EMRE SONCAN, ANKARA The prototype of Turkey’s first national tank-manufacturing project, carried out by Koç Holding’s Otokar in cooperation with South Korea’s Hyundai Rotem, will be shown to the public next year, defense authorities told Today’s Zaman on Monday. Under the “Altay” tank project, launched by the Undersecretariat for the Defense Industry (SSM), Otokar will build modern tanks in cooperation with Hyundai Rotem and Germany’s MTU. Turkey’s Aselsan, the Turkish Mechanical and Chemical Industry Corporation (MKEK), Roketsan and South Korea’s Hyundai Rotem will participate as subcontractors in the...

[Exclusive] Vertical launching system for attack subs developed A 1,800-ton Type-214 submarine of the South Korean Navy sails in waters off Busan. The diesel-electric sub was built by Hyundai Heavy Industries with technical cooperation from HDW of Germany. After 2018 South Korea plans to build 3,000-ton heavy attack submarines equipped with vertical launching systems that allow a variety of weapons, including long-range cruise missiles, to be deployed. / Courtesy of ROK Navy By Jung Sung-ki Korea has developed a vertical launching system (VLS) to be installed on 3,000-ton heavy attack submarines to be deployed after 2018, according to a shipbuilding...

Via Greg Hengler, why would an American cap a three-day visit to Kim Jong-Il’s national gulag by accusing the U.S. of human rights violations? Well, much like Superman, Carter’s more a “citizen of the world” now than part of the country he used to lead. In fact, he wasn’t there on behalf of the State Department but as part of a delegation from “The Elders,” an elite team of ex-statesmen who travel the world sharing the sort of wisdom that’s made “Jimmy Carter” synonymous with successful foreign policy ideas here at home. Kim wouldn’t meet with them, incidentally, for reasons...