Free Republic

The leaders of North and South Korea signed a historic declaration Friday pledging "no more war" and a common goal of "complete denuclearization" on the Korean Peninsula. The countries, which technically remain in a state of war, heralded the deal as part of "a new era of peace" after a historic summit. North Korea's Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in also vowed to "cease all hostile acts" and to "transform the Demilitarized Zone into a peace zone." The two leaders embraced, and Moon said he would visit Pyongyang in the fall.

Hello there, Bowl Cut Jr. It’s been pretty easy for Kim Jong Un since he assumed power in 2011 to provoke the rest of the world any way he wanted. As long as Barack Obama was president of the United States, he could be assured that he could do missile tests and take Americans prisoner, and the scariest American who would show up in his country would be Dennis Rodman. Obama was predictable. Predictably weak and unwilling to take action.

State Councilor Yang Jiechi and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry ahead of U.S. President Barack Obama's visit early next month, to China, to prep him for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) in Beijing. Chinese official said China welcomes Obama's visit and is willing to work with the U.S. side to make sure that the upcoming Xi-Obama summit will achieve positive results, The state councilor reiterated China's "clear, determined and consistent position" that realizing denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula..are in the common interest of China and the United States,"

North Korea is building a missile that is even bigger than the long-range missile it is preparing to launch this month, sources claimed Monday. South Korean and U.S. officials believe the North will unveil the missile at a military parade on April 15, nation founder Kim Il-sung's centenary, or on April 25, which marks the founding day of the North's Army. A government source here said U.S. reconnaissance satellites recently spotted a 40-m missile at a research and development facility in Pyongyang that is larger than the existing Taepodong-2 missile. "It remains uncertain whether this missile is functional or is...

North Korea has begun fuelling a rocket for a launch that the West considers a missile test, a Japanese newspaper reported on Thursday, citing a source "close to the government" in Pyongyang. "The launch is coming closer. The possibility is high that the launch date will be set for April 12 or 13," the source said according to the Tokyo Shimbun in a report from Seoul. It cited the source as saying that North Korea had begun injecting liquid fuel into the rocket. The paper also said a diplomatic source had confirmed that North Korea has moved the rocket to...

In the Pacific, saber rattling is done with missiles. North Korea has announced that it will launch a Taepodong ballistic missile to celebrate the birthday of North Korea's founder, Kim Il Sung, on April 15. The country claims this will be a satellite launch, but most observers agree the test is meant to demonstrate a weapon delivery system. Either way, it violates a fresh agreement that North Korea signed just one month ago pledging not to test long-range missiles. In a notice to the International Maritime Organization, North Korea says the missile stages will splash down near the west coast...

South Korea reiterated warnings to Pyongyang over future military attacks as South Korea commemorates the fatal 2010 sinking of the patrol ship Cheonan allegedly by North Korea. South Korean President Lee Myung-bak said South Korea will "thoroughly retaliate against North Korea" if provoked again," a report by Yonhap news agency said. Last week Lee and Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik visited the National Cemetery in Daejeon to pay respects to the dead sailors. The 1,200-ton naval corvette Cheonan sank rapidly after an explosion from a suspected torpedo ripped the vessel in half in March 2010. It sank just more than 1...

The military is mulling ordering the deployment of missile interceptors to shoot down any debris that could fall on South Korean territory in the event that a satellite bearing North Korean rocket strays from its planned trajectory. The Stalinist regime recently announced that it would launch a satellite from a long-range rocket sometime between April 12 and 16 to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the April 15 birth of its founder Kim Il-sung. “We are preparing measures to track the missile's trajectory and shoot it down if by any chance it deviates from the planned route and falls into...

South Korea is preparing to shoot down a North Korean rocket if it strays into the South's territory during a launch planned for next month, the defence ministry said Monday. The South Korean and US military are closely monitoring activity at the Tongchang-ri base, a ministry spokesman said, a day after Seoul confirmed the main body of a rocket had been moved to the site in the North's northwest. Seoul is concerned that the first stage of the rocket, scheduled to drop into the Yellow Sea between South Korea and China, may fall onto the South's territory, the spokesman said....

A US official says a North Korean rocket due to be launched next month may affect an area between Australia, Indonesia and the Philippines. US Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell is reported to have asked the three countries to condemn the launch. North Korea says the rocket will take a new southern trajectory instead of a previous route east over Japan. Japan is readying anti-missile defences around the southern islands of Okinawa, which could be under the flight path. North Korea says the rocket is intended to put a satellite in space, but the US and others say the...

Chances are high for the government to pick the F-35 fighter jet as the mainstay of the Air Force later this year, but it is doubtful whether the new aircraft can be delivered to Korea as promised from 2016. Seoul is expected to announce the winner of the bidding for its next-generation fighter acquisition project in October this year in line with its plan to introduce 10 advanced jets in 2016 and 2017, respectively, and the remaining 40 by 2020. “Lockheed Martin officials recently informed us that the F-35 development and testing is progressing faster than anticipated and that they...

North Korea has increased its number of long-range anti-aircraft missiles aimed at targeting high-altitude threats over the capital Pyongyang over the past decade, a Korean military source said Wednesday. The number of SA-5 surface-to-air missiles with a range of 260-300 kilometers deployed near Pyongyang has risen from two in 2000 to 40 in 2010, the source said on condition of anonymity. The Soviet-designed SA-5 missiles are believed to be the North's most capable air defense against enemy planes flying over Pyongyang. During the same period, the number of SA-3 missiles, which offer short-range defense against low-flying aircraft, jumped to some...

The Air Force has received two more F-15K fighter jets from U.S. defense contractor Boeing, bringing the total number of the advanced aircraft in the country to 47, officials said Monday. South Korea purchased 21 F-15K Slam Eagle jets in 2008 under the second phase of its fighter jet modernization project, and the delivery of the jets will be completed by 2012. The first-phase procurement of 40 F-15K jets was completed in 2008. The two new F-15Ks were deployed at the South's 11th Fighter Wing in Daegu, 302 kilometers southeast of Seoul, according to the Air Force. With a combat...

North Korea will likely develop intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear warheads within the coming decade, the chief U.S. military officer said Thursday. "There's little doubt in my mind, unless North Korea is deterred, that sometime in the next, I'm not sure but, five to 10 years, the provocations ... will continue at a much higher threat level, which could include a nuclear-capable ICBM," Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in an interview with Financial Times, according to a transcript released by the Pentagon. "That's what I believe we're looking at. I can't be...

South Korea's planned acquisition of next-generation fighter aircraft platforms could be brought forward one year to 2015 in response to increasing threats from North Korea, Yonhap news agency reported on 30 January. Citing the sensitive nature of the country's FX Phase III (FX-III) procurement programme, an official spokesman from the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) told Jane's that he could neither confirm nor deny the reports. However, unnamed defence officials were quoted by state-funded Yonhap as saying that the FX-III acquisition would be launched later this year with the aim of inducting the aircraft within four years. The previous schedule...

Chinese troops have been stationed in the special economic zone of Rajin-Sonbong in North Korea, sources said Friday. This would be the first time since Chinese troops withdrew from the Military Armistice Commission in the truce village of Panmunjom in December 1994 that they have been stationed in the North. "Pyongyang and Beijing have reportedly discussed the matter of stationing a small number of Chinese troops in the Rajin-Sonbong region to guard port facilities China has invested in," a Cheong Wa Dae official said. "If it's true, they're apparently there to protect either facilities or Chinese residents rather than for...

The South Korean government and military are considering developing stealth aircraft by 2015 as part of the country's fighter development program. Citing an unnamed military source, Yonhap News Agency reported on Monday that North Korea's deadly shelling of Yeonpyeong Island last month has bolstered support among officials in Seoul for pursuing stealth aircraft technology. The possession of stealth aircraft beyond the North's detection capabilities could apply great psychological pressure on the regime, the source said, and allow the South to match the military technology of advanced nations

Defence ministers of South Korea and China will hold a meeting in Beijing in February, a report said Sunday, amid high military tension following North Korea's deadly attack on a border island. Kim Kwan-Jin and his Chinese counterpart Liang Guanglie will discuss regional security issues including the North's military provocations, Yonhap news agency reported, quoting a defence ministry official. "The two will largely discuss how to further revitalise military cooperation between the two countries, but they will also discuss regional security issues like the North's attack on the Cheonan warship and bombing on Yeonpyeong island," Yonhap quoted the official as...

After years of ignoring North Korean aggression and provocations, the South Korean government has stated that any future attacks will result in war on the peninsula. In such a crisis as happening now on the Korean peninsula, one assumes the political and military leadership of the United States would deploy its most sophisticated weapons to the Korean peninsula, both as a warning to Pyongyang and as a capable force to defend against any further aggression in support of our South Korean allies. Yet what was missing from the joint military exercises last week between the U.S. and South Korean navies,...

The last A-10A model of the Thunderbolt II aircraft assigned here departed the base Dec. 4, marking the 25th Fighter Squadron's successful transition to the A-10C model. The new model features improved precision strike capability and enhances the Air Force's ability to provide lethal and precise close-air support, said Maj. Andrew Taylor, from the 51st Operations Group. The first five A-10Cs arrived here in spring 2010, beginning the transition to the new model. The final A-10A aircraft is being transferred for modification and reassignment to the Air National Guard. "The upgrade to the C-model is unlike any other in the...