Free Republic

By Yi Whan-woo, Kim Yoo-chul As nuclear negotiations between North Korea and the United States remain in a stalemate after no "substantial outcome" from their recent encounter in Sweden, the lack of visible progress in the denuclearization dialogue is raising concerns that the North is "buying time" for its military and nuclear advancement. During an Asan Institute for Policy Studies security forum held in Seoul, Tuesday, Bruce Bennett, a senior defense analyst at the Washington-based RAND Corporation, claimed that despite North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's promise to end his nuclear program, Pyongyang has not taken any meaningful measures toward this....

OSAN AIR BASE, South Korea — An F-16 ended up off the runway surface while attempting to land at Osan Air Base on Tuesday. The pilot was recovered safely from the scene, while the aircraft remained off the side of the runway, said a statement from the 51st Fighter Wing. An investigation into the incident is under way. Osan was being buffeted by high winds at the time.

SEOUL/WASHINGTON, April 8 (Yonhap) -- The top U.S. military commander in South Korea has called off a trip to Washington this week, the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) said Monday, as the Pentagon is on full alert for North Korea's possible missile launch or other provocative acts. Army Gen. James Thurman had planned to testify at a series of congressional hearings on the operations of the 28,500 American troops in Korea, but he has decided to stay in Seoul next week, the USFK said in a statement. "Given the current situation, General Thurman will remain in Seoul next week as a...

U.S. Forces Korea issued a warning Friday that any North Korean launch using ballistic missile technology would be considered “a provocative act.” North Korea has announced it plans to launch a satellite sometime between Monday and Dec. 22. U.S. officials believe it will really be a test of the country’s missile-launch capabilities, and thus is a violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions. News of the launch has prompted warnings from a variety of U.S. officials, along with South Korea and Japan. Even China, the North’s closest ally, has expressed concerns. “We are taking prudent measures to posture our forces to...

2012/03/29 (LEAD) N. Korea honing capability to attack Seoul: USFK commander By Lee Chi-dong WASHINGTON, March 28 (Yonhap) -- The commander of U.S. troops on the Korean Peninsula expressed concern Wednesday that North Korea's new leadership will trigger a military conflict based on a "miscalculation." Before the House Armed Services Committee, Gen. James Thurman said the North continues improving its ability to attack the South Korean capital of Seoul. "The first thing I worry about every day is a miscalculation on somebody's part that causes a conflict that he hadn't planned for," he said at a hearing on the security...

James D. Thurman, the new Commander of USFK, tours Panmunjom on Jul. 15

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...

The United States and South Korea have agreed to "coordinate" any response to North Korea after Pyongyang's deadly artillery attack on a South Korean island provoked global condemnation. The assault Tuesday which killed two South Korean marines was one of the most serious border incidents since the 1950-1953 war. South Korea's military went on top alert, its troops fired back with cannon and the government met in an underground war room, officials said, in response to what Seoul called an atrocity against civilians. North Korea's supreme command, however, accused South Korea of firing first and vowed "merciless military attacks with...

The U.S. Air Force is ready to respond immediately if hostilities between the two Koreas escalate, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz said Wednesday. Schwarz told reporters after North Korea's attack on Yeonpyeong Island, "The bottom line is that U.S. Forces Korea cetainly is monitoring the situation carefully." He mentioned Osan and Gunsan in South Korea, Kaneda in Okinawa, Japan, and other U.S. Air Force bases in the Pacific to emphasize that the U.S. has plenty of firepower in the region. Schwarz added USFK Commander Gen. Walter Sharp "has operational control of Air Force assets that reside on...

The US military has deployed an upgraded A-10 Thunderbolt II ground attack aircraft to its base in South Korea. The new aircraft was deployed at the US air base in Osan near the South Korean capital Seoul late last month, the Korean news agency Yonhap reported Tuesday quoting a statement from the US Forces Korea (USFK). With this deployment, the 25th Fighter Squadron of the USFK has received its last batch of A-10C aircraft with “improved precision strike capability”, the statement said. The A-10 Thunderbolt is a twin-engine combat aircraft used to provide close-air support to ground forces and employs...

U.S. military planners have discovered that China's current arsenal of non-nuclear ballistic and cruise missiles could probably knock out five of six major American air bases in Japanese and South Korea. Oops. To make matters worse, this has become an issue as North Korea stumbles towards political collapse, and China indicates that it will assume control in the north if that happens. South Korea believes it should move north to deal with a collapse, and this plan is becoming a contentious issue with China. It's long been obvious that China planned a similar tactic against Taiwan. Wargames and detailed analysis...

South Korea and the United States kicked off a joint air force training exercise Friday to increase interoperability among the airmen of the two allies. About 50 fighter jets, including F-15Ks and KF-16s from South Korea as well as F-16 Fighting Falcons and KC-135 Stratotankers from the U.S., are participating in the eight-day drill, the South Korean Air Force said in a news release. More than 250 pilots from the allies will be mobilized for the drill, named "Max Thunder," to be staged over the western airspace of the Korean Peninsula, it said. "This air readiness exercise is aimed at...

The United States and South Korea will stage about 10 naval exercises in coming months including one starting Sunday as a deterrent to North Korea, Seoul's defence ministry said Wednesday. On Tuesday the US and South Korean defence chiefs announced a major exercise from July 25-28 off the east coast of the peninsula, following the sinking of a South Korean warship that they blame on a North Korean torpedo. The two sides said the drill was the first in a series but gave no details. "Both sides will continue to conduct joint military exercises -- approximately 10 times -- in...

USS George Washington, the U.S. Navy's only permanently, forward-deployed aircraft carrier will visit the Korean port of Busan July 21-25, 2010, officials at U.S. Forces Korea announced today. In addition to USS George Washington, three destroyers from its strike group will also visit Korean ports. USS McCampbell and USS John S. McCain will visit Busan, and USS Lassen will visit Chinhae. "The U.S. Navy maintains a robust forward presence in the Asia-Pacific region and the people of the Republic of Korea are our good friends and allies," said George Washington commanding officer Capt. David Lausman. "Our presence here is a...

South Korea and the United States will push ahead with a joint naval exercise to warn North Korea against making attacks on the South, officials in Seoul and Washington said. But a defense ministry official told the JoongAng Ilbo that the two countries have arrived at a compromise to avoid angering China, which objected to the exercise being held in the Yellow Sea near its own territorial waters. “We will hold drills in both the Yellow Sea and the East Sea,” the official said. In addition, the U.S.S. George Washington, a U.S. Nimitz-class aircraft carrier, will participate in the exercise...

The U.S. government is apparently debating how to stage joint exercises with South Korea not only this month but all year round as a response to North Korea's torpedo attack on the South Korean Navy corvette Cheonan in March. A diplomatic source in Washington on Tuesday said the U.S. is thinking a lot about these joint exercises "to deliver a clear message to the North." Following the planned joint drill this month, the two countries will further upgrade the Ulchi Freedom Guardian exercise, which is staged in August every year, and may also possibly conduct various other kinds of drills....

Saying “there is no reason to have a curfew,” the commander of U.S. troops in South Korea will end an almost 9-year-old curfew on the peninsula Friday, the start of Fourth of July weekend. “I believe that we can trust our servicemembers to do the right thing,” U.S. Forces Korea commander Gen. Walter Sharp said in an interview Monday. “I personally believe in personal responsibility and making that the top thing that we do with our servicemembers, rather than trying to impose restrictions on them because of the acts of very, very few.” Local commanders will be allowed to impose...

U.S. Forces on Korean Peninsula Reject China's Criticism of Maritime Exercises with S.Korea Commander of U.S. forces in South Korea, General Walter Sharp The leader of U.S. forces on the Korean Peninsula rejects China's criticism of maritime exercises planned with South Korea. But the top American general in South Korea asks Beijing to work more closely with Washington and Seoul to deter the North Korean threat. The commander of U.S. forces in South Korea, General Walter Sharp, says every nation, within its territorial limits, is obligated to train its forces against perceived threats. "South Korea has that right. And South...

The planned creation of the U.S. Korea Command has been delayed to October or later, according to a source at the Ministry of Defense yesterday. The source told the JoongAng Ilbo that the new command structure was supposed to be created on June 1, but Seoul and Washington agreed to push back its creation to October or later, because of the delay of the transfer of wartime operational control of South Korean soldiers from the U.S. to South Korea. The U.S. Korea Command will be a new organization of the U.S. military forces here to be used after Korea is...

Sharp does not expect rise in incidents in lifting nearly 9-year-old restrictions SEOUL — Saying “there is no reason to have a curfew,” the commander of U.S. troops in South Korea will end an almost 9-year-old curfew on the peninsula Friday, the start of Fourth of July weekend. “I believe that we can trust our servicemembers to do the right thing,” U.S. Forces Korea commander Gen. Walter Sharp said in an interview Monday. “I personally believe in personal responsibility and making that the top thing that we do with our servicemembers, rather than trying to impose restrictions on them because...