Military

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  S, Korea unveils project to develop laser weapon for defense against drones A DAPA image for a laser weapon. SEOUL -- South Korea unveiled a defense project to develop a laser weapon using light sources generated from optical fibers for short-range air defense against small unmanned aircraft like drones which were used for an attack on Saudi oil facilities. Some 88 billion won ($74 million) will be spent from this year to complete the development of a fiber laser weapon for precision strikes on drones 2019-09-17
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  S. Korea endorses mass-production of Haegung intercept missiles for warships SEOUL -- South Korea approved the mass production of a close-in weapon system called "Haegung (sea bow)," designed to intercept missiles and aircraft, that would replace American missiles used by South Korean warships. The surface-to-air anti-missile system, known as K-SAAM, has a maximum range of 20 kilometers (12 miles). The Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) said Tuesday that approval came from a military procurement body chaired b 2019-09-10
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  New digitized version of 81-millimeter mortar debuts in S. Korea SEOUL -- The upgraded and digitized version of an 81-millimeter mortar made its debut in South Korea, using laser and a location information system for the automatic calculation and transmission of firing information that has greatly improved the speed and accuracy of shelling. An 81 mm mortar is a smooth-bore, muzzle-loading, high-angle-of-fire weapon used for long-range indirect fire support to light infantry, air assau 2019-08-29
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  S. Korea completes two-day military exercise around disputed islets . SEOUL -- At the height of a diplomatic dispute over trade restrictions, South Korea completed a two-day exercise aimed at showing a firm stance to safeguard its sovereignty around a chain of islets located in the middle of waters between the Korean peninsula and Japan following the termination of a bilateral pact on sharing sensitive military information. The two-day "East Sea Territory Protection" exercise ended around noon Monday, military author 2019-08-26
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  Washington endorses sale of 12 MH-60R helicopters to enhance S. Korea's anti-submarine capability MH-60R Seahawk SEOUL -- As North Korea steps up a program to develop submarines capable of launching ballistic missiles, the United States has approved the potential sale of 12 MH-60R Seahawks, a multi-mission helicopter which can detect and track submarines and surface ships and attack with torpedoes and missiles. In a statement posted on its website, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA), a state body under the Department of Defense, said th 2019-08-08
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  Korean Air's unmanned helicopter makes first test flight SEOUL -- An unmanned helicopter unveiled by Korean Air has made its first test flight as part of efforts to develop a fully unmanned platform that could be used for high-risk civilian and military missions. Korean Air said the Korean Air Unmanned System - Vertical Helicopter (KUS-VH) performed its maiden flight for about 30 minutes on July 30 at a research center run by the Korea Aerospace Research Institute in the southern coastal town of Goheung. Korean Air 2019-08-02
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  Russian and Chinese warplanes suspected of making multi-purpose joint flight through air defense zone SEOUL -- South Korea's defense ministry accused Russian and Chinese warplanes of making a multi-purpose flight through a sensitive air defense zone between the Korean peninsula and Japan this month during their rare joint exercise that triggered a barrage of warning shots. South Korean jet fighters fired anti-missile flares and hundreds of warning shots on July 23 to intercept a Russian A-50 AWACS aircraft for violating South Korean air space twice near Dokdo, a cha 2019-07-31
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  N. Korea's new submarine likely to carry three ballistic missiles: defense ministry A picture released by Pyongyang's state media on July 23 showed leader Kim Jong-un inspecting a new submarine. SEOUL -- Based on photos released by Pyongyang's state media, South Korea's defense ministry gave a guess that North Korea appears to be building a new submarine capable of carrying three submarine-launched ballistic missiles by upgrading a 2,500-ton Gorae (whale)-class submarine in service. The ministry said in a report to the National Assembl 2019-07-31
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  N. Korea launches short-range ballistic missiles into sea A file pictures North Korea's missile launch. SEOUL -- North Korea launched what appeared to be a short-range ballistic missile twice following a similar launch six days ago. South Korean military authorities said the projectiles flew about 250 kilometers (155 miles) at an estimated altitude of 30 km before falling into the sea between the Korean peninsula and Japan. The projectiles were launched from a base near the northeastern port of Wonsan at 5:06 a.m. ( 2019-07-31
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  [FOCUS] Pyongyang claims to have developed new missiles for operational deployment SEOUL -- Only if its announcement is true, North Korea has apparently developed what appeared to be an upgraded version of Russia's ballistic missile, Iskander, probably for operational deployment through a series of testing that began in May. Iskander is a very sophisticated system that would require years of development and testing. North Korea launched two missiles on Thursday from a place near the eastern port city of Wonsan. Based on joint analysis by U.S. an 2019-07-26
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  Russia uses diplomatic rhetoric to appease Seoul over warplane intrusion SEOUL -- Russia used diplomatic rhetoric to appease Seoul, saying its warplane may have strayed into South Korean airspace unintentionally due to technical or other problems, but China took a different attitude, putting more emphasis on Sino-Russian joint drills in a sensitive area in Northeast Asia. A message of regrets was delivered by Maxim Volkov, deputy chief of mission at the Russian Embassy in South Korea, on Wednesday when he met with Yoon Sang-hyun, chairman o 2019-07-24
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  S. Korean jet fighters fire warning shots to stop Russian plane's intrusion of airspace KF-16 jet fighter SEOUL -- A Russian A-50 AWACS aircraft violated South Korean air space twice for a total of seven minutes above the sea between South Korea and Japan, prompting South Korean jet fighters to fire anti-missile flares and hundreds of warning shots. It was the first time that Russian military planes have invaded South Korea's territorial sky. The Russian plane violated South Korean airspace first at 9:09 a.m. Tuesday (0009 GMT) near 2019-07-23
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  N. Korean leader inspects newly built submarine for deployment off east coast: state media A photo, released by the Korean Central News Agency on July 23, shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-un inspecting a new submarine. SEOUL -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has inspected a newly built submarine that would carry out its duty in the sea between the Korean peninsula and Japan, with its operational deployment "near at hand," Pyongyang's state agency said. The submarine "will perform its duty in the operational waters of the East Sea 2019-07-23
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  Researchers develop new system capable of identifying small drones 3 km away This picture released by the science ministry shows Oh Dae-gun (RIGHT), a DGIST researcher, posing with other researchers at an unmanned aerial vehicle testing field. SEOUL -- South Korean researchers have developed a detection system capable of identifying small drones more than three kilometers away that can be used to monitor and stop spy drones or unmanned operations targeting high-risk facilities such as nuclear power plants. The Collaborative Robots Research 2019-07-16
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  UNC seeks to include Japan as official member: Yonhap SEOUL -- The U.S.-led U.N. Command (UNC) is seeking to include Japan as an official member, sources said Thursday, a move likely to inflame public sentiment in South Korea amid renewed historical tensions with Tokyo. Should Japan participate as part of the UNC's "sending states," its membership would pave the way for its military involvement in the event of an armed conflict on the peninsula -- a scenario unthinkable for most Koreans harboring grie 2019-07-11
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  Military commanders dismissed or disciplined for undetected voyage by N. Korean boat SEOUL -- South Korea's military dismissed an army corps commander and disciplined two regional commanders to hold them accountable for a security loophole exposed by a small boat which made an uninterrupted voyage across the tightly guarded maritime border to put four North Koreans ashore by evading a tight military surveillance network. The 1.8-ton boat arrived in the eastern port of Samcheok on June 15. Coastguard officers and military surveillance tea 2019-07-03
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  Jet fighters scramble to chase flock of birds flying over inter-Korean border . SEOUL -- An unidentified object was detected by South Korea's military radar in the sky over the inter-Korean border, a day after U.S. and North Korean leaders had their historic rendezvous in the middle of the world's last Cold War frontier. A squadron of jet fighters scrambled after unidentified traces were detected around 1 p.m. (0400 GMT) in the central part of the demilitarized zone (DMZ), which bisects the Korean peninsula, according to a short m 2019-07-01
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  KT transforms showcase border village into 5G-connected town SEOUL -- A showcase village, which is under constant watch by North Korean troops guarding the world last Cold War frontier, was transformed into a 5G town installed with virtual reality devices with farm sprinklers and air conditions being remotely controlled through smartphones. KT, a telecom involved in the establishment of a 5G mobile telecom network across South Korea, showed off how it changed Daeseong-dong, a military-controlled showcase town in the demilitari 2019-06-27
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  U.S. military tests new missile that is 'too fast to track' SEOUL -- The AGM-183A Air Launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW) tested by the US military just this month is regarded as a "game-changing" hypersonic missile which is expected to reach operation capability by 2022. Traveling at a mind-numbing speed of Mach 5 (5 times the speed of sound/3800mph) makes this missile almost undetectable before it hits the intended target. They conducted a flight test to see how the B-52H strategic bomber would perfo 2019-06-21
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  Russian strategic bombers violate S. Korea’s air defense zone Russian strategic bomber TU-95 Bear. SEOUL -- Two Russian Tu-95 bombers, also known as Bear during the Cold War decades, have violated a sensitive air defense zone claimed by Seoul, prompting a squadron of South Korean jet fighters to scramble. The standoff off the east coast took place on Thursday after two Russian bombers flew into the Korean Air Defense Identification Zone (KADIZ) at 3:37 a.m. (1837 GMT) without permission and st 2019-06-21