U.S.-South Korea Military Alliance

S Korea Reaches New Missile Range Deal with U.S.

RIA Novosti

14:27 07/10/2012

SEOUL, October 7 (RIA Novosti) - South Korea has reached a new missile deal with the United States, allowing Seoul to develop longer-range ballistic missiles capable of striking all of North Korea with stronger warheads, Yonhap news agency reported on Sunday.

“The agreement, known as the ‘missile guideline,’ calls for extending the maximum range of South Korean ballistic missiles from the current 300 kilometers to 800 kilometers, a distance long enough to reach the northern tip of North Korea,” the agency quoted presidential security aide Chun Yung-woo as saying.

The new agreement is seen in South Korea as a breakthrough amid constant threats from the communist nation.

The new deal also allows South Korea to load its ballistic missiles with warheads heavier than the current limit of 500 kilograms on condition that their ranges decrease in proportion, another key part of the agreement known as a "trade-off" clause, Chun said.

The deal also increases the maximum load weight for a South Korean unmanned aerial vehicle to 2.5 tons from the current 500 kilograms, which is also significant because unmanned aircraft can be loaded with weapons for attacking purposes.

"The most important purpose our government placed on revising the missile guideline lies in deterring armed provocations by North Korea. We will secure effective and various means to incapacitate North Korea's nuclear and missile capabilities and safeguard the lives and safety of our people if North Korea launches armed attacks," Chun told reporters.

Warheads of up to 1.5 tons can be put on missiles if the range remains at 300 km, Chun added.

South Korea and the United States first signed the missile range agreement in 1979 over concern about missile proliferation. The deal initially put a 180 km cap on the ranges of South Korean missiles and restricted the maximum payload weight to 500 kg.

The range limit was extended to 300 km when the deal was last revised in 2001 in exchange for Seoul's accession to the Missile Technology Control Regime.

http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/library/news/rok/2012/rok-121007-rianovosti01.htm?_m=3n.002a.625.dd0ao031i6.kfv

US, S Korea Begin Joint Naval Drill Despite Tensions on Korean Peninsula

The military exercises will last for three days and involve a Los Angeles-class submarine, USS Olympia (SSN-717), equipped with the Tomahawk long-range missiles.

TOKYO (Sputnik) – A US-South Korean joint naval drill involving a US nuclear-powered submarine began in the Sea of Japan Thursday, amid ongoing tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

The military exercises will last for three days and involve a Los Angeles-class submarine, USS Olympia (SSN-717), equipped with the Tomahawk long-range missiles, South Korean media outlets reported.

In the same day, the South Korean Air force launched a two-week aerial exercise "Soaring Eagle," mobilizing 40 planes and 320 service members, according to the Yonhap news agency.

On Monday, spokesman for the US Defense Department Lieutenant Colonel Jeffrey Pool said that this year's US-South Korean exercise would allow the two countries to discuss potential responses to threats posed by North Korean weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles.

Pyongyang has repeatedly condemned large scale war games South Korea holds jointly with the United States, claiming they are invasion rehearsals and that they escalate tensions on the Korean peninsula.

On January 14, North Korea proposed that Washington suspend the joint military drills conducted every year with South Korea and, in response, they would temporarily halt nuclear testing.

North and South Korea are technically in a state of war, and have been since the cessation of hostilities in 1953. No formal peace treaty was signed at the end of the 1950-1953 Korean War.

Long-term tensions on the Korean Peninsula escalated earlier in February, when Pyongyang accused Seoul and Washington of rejecting an invitation to visit the country and pointing out the Southern allies' unwillingness to resume denuclearization talks.

Read more: http://sputniknews.com/military/20150205/1017824329.html#ixzz3Qy0GoED0

South Korea Says No to US Missile Defense System

South Korea does not intend to purchase a Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery, a US anti-ballistic missile system, to defend itself against the missile threat from Pyongyang despite growing support for the move in the ruling Saenuri Party.

"Basically, the system would do good to better defend the country from missiles from North Korea, but we will make a judgment by putting the national interest as our top priority," said Kim Min-seok, a spokesman for South Korea's Ministry of National Defense, as quoted by Yonhap.

The United States has urged South Korea to join its missile defense system in Asia. However, Seoul remains opposed to the idea, which is also a matter of concern to China. Last week, China sent a warning that the potential deployment of a new US missile defense system in South Korea could undermine relations between Seoul and Beijing.

Instead, South Korea is determined to develop its own missile defense system known as Korea Air and Missile Defense (KAMD), as well as Kill Chain, a pre-emptive strike system. KAMD is based on the Patriot missile batteries and cruisers equipped with the Aegis Combat System, Seoul purchased from the US.

"We will establish an MD system of our own against North Korea's ballistic missiles by developing L-SAM and M-SAM surface-to-air missiles," Kim Min-seok said.

Read more: http://sputniknews.com/military/20150309/1019242492.html#ixzz3Ttd7Aqyu

South Korea, US To Start Amphibious Drill

SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea and the United States will launch a massive landing drill next week, the climax of an ongoing joint military exercise which North Korea views as an invasion rehearsal.

The amphibious drill will start March 28 and run until April 1 at the port of Pohang, some 360 kilometers (223 miles) south of Seoul, the US-South Korea Combined Forces Command said in a statement.

It will include some 1,000 US Marines, three US amphibious ships and 3,000 South Koreans, Yonhap news agency said.

US sailors and Marines from the Bonhomme Richard Amphibious Ready Group and the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) based in Okinawa, Japan, are also participating in the drill, known as Ssangyong in South Korea and the Korean Marine Exchange Program (KMEP) in the United States.

"KMEP is designed to strengthen our interoperability in amphibious operations between the US and ROK (South Korea) Forces, which contributes to the security and stability on the Korean Peninsula as well as the entire Asia-Pacific region," the statement said.

The scale of the drill has been downgraded compared with last year, though it marks the peak of the eight-week Foal Eagle joint US-South Korea military exercise which started on March 2 and is scheduled to end on April 24.

Also beginning early March was the Key Resolve exercise — a computer-simulated command post drill that rehearsed various conflict scenarios and involved around 10,000 South Korean and 8,600 US troops.

Last year as the South and the United States were staging the Ssangyong landing drill, South and North Korea exchanged fire near their disputed sea border.

The exchange was triggered by a three-hour North Korean live-fire exercise that dropped shells into South Korean waters, but was limited to untargeted shelling into the sea.

Annual drills always trigger a surge in military tensions between the two Koreas, which remain technically at war because the 1950-53 Korean conflict ended with a ceasefire rather than a peace treaty.

The United States and South Korea insist their joint military exercises are defensive in nature, but North Korea claims that they, especially the landing drill, are designed to rehearse invasion.

North Korea signaled its displeasure when this year's Key Resolve and Foal Eagle drills began by firing two short-range ballistic missiles into the sea off its east coast.

Although the North has kept up its rhetorical condemnation of the drills, there have been no further missile launches or other incidents.

There were some concerns that Pyongyang might consider conducting a fourth nuclear test, but analysis of recent satellite images of the North's main tests site shows no signs of preparations for an imminent detonation.

South Korea, US Kick Off Combined Military Division

The new division consists of a brigade from the South Korean Army and the US 2nd Infantry Division in Uijeongbu, north of Seoul. Each unit will carry out normal duties in its assigned areas in peacetime.

South Korea and the US activated a combined division on Wednesday in a bit to enhance combat readiness against North Korea, the Ministry of National Defense reported.

Last year, the allies agreed to create the combat wartime division of their troops to bolster tactical-level capabilities to better counter threats by the North.

The new division consists of a brigade from the South Korean Army and the US 2nd Infantry Division in Uijeongbu, north of Seoul. Each unit will carry out normal duties in its assigned areas in peacetime.

The commander of the 2nd Division will lead the new military entity while a South-Korean brigadier general will assume the position of deputy commander.

"The creation of the combined division is expected to help strengthen the Seoul-Washington alliance and foster experts capable of carrying out combined operations," the ministry said.

The new entity will be the first South-Korea-US combined military unit capable of carrying out combat missions since the Combined Field Army Command was disbanded in 1992, according to the ministry.

A ceremony to recognize the establishment of the combined division was held on Wednesday at Camp Red Cloud in Uijeongbu.

According to a US relocation plan, the combined unit will be moved to Pyeongtaek, 70 kilometers south of Seoul, by the end of 2016.

Currently, about 28,500 US troops are stationed in South Korea.

Read more: http://sputniknews.com/asia/20150603/1022882628.html#ixzz3c4M5tCHd

US 2nd Infantry Division in South Korea
Peek the K-2 Battle tank - Aug 05, 2015

More here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/2id

























US ROK tank camp.

Only bloc 1

Seoul weighs Chinook upgrade options

South Korea is assessing how to move forward with an major upgrade programme for its army’s fleet of Boeing Ch-47D Chinook transport helicopters.

Industry sources at the Seoul International Aerospace & Defense Expo 2015 say that Seoul has issued a global request for information for the requirement, which could see 42 obsolescent CH-47Ds receive new engines, new avionics, new cockpits, and a full defensive measures suite.

Honeywell, which produced the current aircraft’s T55-712 engines, is in a strong position for engine upgrade with its T55-714A engine. The US company displayed a model of its engine offering at the show.

It is not clear, however, how Seoul will decide to proceed with the rest of the upgrade programme. Several companies appear to be eyeing work on the project, with Rockwell Collins using the show to promote its Common Avionics Architecture System for the Chinook.

Boeing is also frank in stating its interest in possible Chinook upgrade work.

Speaking with Flightglobal in Boeing’s stand at the show, the company’s director of international business development Timothy Nichols said that Seoul should give serious consideration to upgrading its Chinook fleet to the CH-47F standard of the US Army.

“If you're lined up with the biggest Chinook operator in the world, and they are managing obsolescence and with a huge installed base, you will have an easier time paying for your Chinook fleet over the long haul. Obsolescence is taken care of, and the spare parts are there…what we really want is a chance to compete as prime contractor.”

Flightglobal’s Fleets Analyzer shows that the average age of South Korea’s 42 Chinooks is 31.2 years.

- See more at: http://www.defencenews.in/article/Seoul-weighs-Chinook-upgrade-options-20#sthash.jODgQPUl.dpuf

"The U.S. government has refused to allow Korea to export its indigenous supersonic training jets worth $400 million to Uzbekistan, sources said Sunday. The denial of permission is another blow to Korea's program to develop its own military aircraft and comes at a sensitive time when the U.S. government's refusal to hand over key avionics technologies regarding F-35 fighters to Korea has become a political issue between the two nations.

Korea Aerospace Industries' (KAI) T-50 Golden Eagle was co-developed in 2006 with Lockheed Martin, using the U.S. firm's core technologies, including the avionics system and engine. Because of this, Korea needs to get approval from the U.S. government to export the aircraft in accordance with the U.S. Arms Export Control Act. "KAI has been in negotiations with the Uzbek government to export the supersonic trainers, but the U.S. government is opposing the deal, citing possible technology leakage and diplomatic policy," a source said. The U.S. refusal comes at a sensitive time when the Korea's weapons procurement agency has drawn fire for failing to receive key avionics technologies KAI seeks to sell 12 T-50s worth $400 million (454 billion won). In addition, the U.S. also expressed concerns that Uzbekistan's procurement of the T-50s may ratchet up tensions with neighboring countries, the source said.


The military believes that the U.S. opposition is due to Uzbekistan's membership of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) that some say has emerged as an anti-U.S. bulwark in Central Asia. The SCO's other members are China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan. "As Uzbekistan has close ties with Russia, the U.S. is worried that an export of T-50s to Uzbekistan may lead to its technologies being transferred to Russia," said a military official. U.S.-Russia ties are at their lowest ebb in decades since Moscow's annexation of the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine in March 2014. The U.S. opposition is a major blow to Korea, which has made all-out efforts to strike the contract with the Central Asian country.

President Park Geun-hye and Uzbek President Islam Karimov reportedly discussed the issue during their summit at Cheong Wa Dae in May. In April, Defense Minister Han Min-koo and his Uzbek counterpart Kabul Berdiev signed the memorandum of understanding (MOU) on promoting bilateral partnerships and Berdiev piloted the FA-50 simulator. The FA-50 is a light attack variant of the T-50 that has been exported to Iraq, the Philippines and Thailand. KAI also exported 16 TA-50s, another T-50 variant, to Indonesia."

Source: https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2015/10/116_189398.html

Taurus bullish on KEPD 350 integration on F-15K, prospect of land-based variant


The Taurus Systems KEPD 350 stand-off cruise missile is being integrated onto South Korea's F-15K fleet and should be in service by the start of 2016, company officials said at ADEX 2015.A KEPD 350 was displayed alongside an F-15K for the first time. Taurus - a joint venture between European groups MBDA and Saab - is also in talks with local defence manufacturer LIG Nex1 to develop a land-based version of the Taurus missile and displayed a canister-launched model at the biennial defence exhibition at Seoul Airport.

The KEPD 350 missile was selected by South Korea in 2013 for a 180-missile requirement for a long-range air-launched cruise missile. Seoul had originally sought to purchase Lockheed Martin's AGM-158 Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM) but this was blocked by the United States.

The 500 km-range Taurus being built for South Korea is identical to that in service with Spain's F-18 and Germany's Tornado fleets except that it has a new GPS receiver, Oliver Kessler, director of business development for Taurus Systems Korea, told IHS Jane's .

While the priority is to fulfil the programme under contract for the Republic of Korea Air Force (RoKAF), Kessler said the company is also pursuing follow-on contracts for the standard KEPD 350; the land-based version; and a smaller, air-launched variant that could be fitted to the RoKAF's KAI FA-50 light fighter.

The FA-50 variant would take advantage of the KEPD 350's modular design. Kessler said studies to integrate a standard version of the missile on the FA-50 had found that the Taurus was "too big", so the plan was to remove one fuel tank from the missile. This would make it shorter and lighter, Kessler said, although its range would be reduced to about 400 km.

The missile's modular design was also a key element of plans to develop a land-based version, Kessler said.



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Korean Paper calls for punishing Lockheed

Lockheed Martin and KAI presented the prototype aircraft TX

Washington, Seoul Discuss Deployment of Nuke Sub, F-22 and B-52 to S.Korea

Read more: http://sputniknews.com/asia/20160107/1032788922/us-korea-military.html#ixzz3wYDsminU

George1 wrote:Washington, Seoul Discuss Deployment of Nuke Sub, F-22 and B-52 to S.Korea

Read more: http://sputniknews.com/asia/20160107/1032788922/us-korea-military.html#ixzz3wYDsminU

Chinese would love it surely

Werewolf wrote:

George1 wrote:Washington, Seoul Discuss Deployment of Nuke Sub, F-22 and B-52 to S.Korea

Read more: http://sputniknews.com/asia/20160107/1032788922/us-korea-military.html#ixzz3wYDsminU

But according to Flamming Python, North Korea is just paranoid!

It came after North Korea successful test.

So now after the atomic test US has the perfeck justification for deployepment of advance weapons in the region including anti balistic missile sustem. I bet these wapons are aimed against China and Russia and not N Korea. Anyone here has the same opinion as me?

US Responds To North Korean Nuke Test, Flies B-52 Over South Korea

Meanwhile South Korea resumed anti-Pyongyang propaganda broadcasts across the DMZ

Delayed U.S. license halts S. Korea's Taurus missile adoption

The U.S.' stalled decision over the export of a key GPS system is causing a major delay in South Korea's plan to introduce Taurus missiles by the end of this year, sources said Tuesday.The U.S. government is currently delaying its decision on whether to approve the export of a military GPS receiver for the local project to arm its fighter jets with the made-in-Germany air-to-surface missiles, military and defense procurement officials said.

Any decision on the matter is expected to come after August, according to the officials.The GPS component is an integral part of the missile integration project for its trace and key-target hitting functions.The missing piece of the puzzle has halted the project in the middle of missile installation, resulting in skepticism on the success of the push to deploy them within this year.

Including those intended for this year, the military is reportedly planning to acquire a total of some 170 Taurus missiles by the first half of next year as the country is beefing up defense against North Korea's growing nuclear and missile threats.With a range of 500 kilometers, the air-launched cruise missile can automatically detect, trace and hit targets and penetrate a concrete wall as thick as six meters.

China grows anxious about possible THAAD in Korea

China seems to be shifting its focus to blocking the United States from expanding its military influence in Northeast Asia in dealing with North Korea's recent nuclear test, observers said Thursday.China is even threatening informally to retaliate with economic measures if South Korea allows the U.S. to deploy a THAAD advanced missile defense unit on its soil, they said.

China's mistrust in South Korea has increased amid a stand-off over ways to handle North Korea's provocation, according to a report by the Sejong Institute, a think tank in Seoul, based on interviews with more than a dozen Chinese experts.Some of them were quoted as saying that South Korea's economy will be hurt if THAAD is deployed in the nation.

China is South Korea's major trading partner and also North Korea's closest ally.Beijing is apparently upset about the talk of a possibility that the U.S. will send a THAAD battery to Korea in a bid to counter the North's missile and nuclear threats.In her New Year press conference following the North's Jan. 6 nuclear test, President Park Geun-hye said her government is looking at the issue from the perspective of national security.

Speaking to reporters in Beijing Wednesday. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said, "The United States will do what is necessary to protect our country and our friends and allies in the world."

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi warned the U.S. and other countries against any action to "provoke new tension in the situation, let alone destabilize the Korean Peninsula."Chinese media carried a series of reports critical of the possible deployment of THAAD on the peninsula. The THAAD, or Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, system includes the world's most advanced mobile radar, which is capable of closely monitoring some parts of China.

"THAAD can have a very big impact on the security mechanism of China, the U.S. and Russia," Zheng Jiyong, a professor at the Center for Korean Studies at China's Fudan University, wrote in an SNS news outlet operated by the People's Daily, an official newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party.He said South Korea will have to consider the matter prudently.

The Global Times, an English-language Chinese newspaper, also said in an editorial that, "South Korea should avoid using the THAAD missile system as leverage against China." If Seoul were to do so, the mutual trust between Beijing and Seoul would be severely damaged, it added.

U.S. to Deploy THAAD Battery in Korea This Year


Seoul and Washington have reportedly agreed to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense batteries here as soon as possible.

They are eyeing a position in North Gyeongsang Province.

"Washington hopes that the THAAD will be deployed at the USFK at the earliest possible date," a government source said on Wednesday. "Seoul also wants to reach a decision as soon as possible, believing that the more protracted the discussion becomes, the bigger the resistance will be from Beijing and Moscow and the larger the conflict in the country."

Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook on Monday said, "Without getting into a timeline, again, we'd like to see this move as quickly as possible."

The two sides have so far clung to a flimsy official fiction that they have never discussed the stationing of THHAD batteries, which form a core part of the U.S.' missile shield mostly aimed at containing China. But North Korea's launch of a space rocket last week seems to have persuaded them to abandon it.

In fact Seoul and Washington opened a secret dialogue channel last year.

The new USFK garrison in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province was at one point top on the list of possible positions. Gunsan in North Jeolla Province, which has a U.S. air base, was also under consideration.

Now the two allies are reportedly considering Chilgok or Daegu in North Gyeongsang Province, which is further away from China than Pyeongtaek or Gunsan to soothe Chinese fears.

“We're seeking a location close to the east coast and as far away as possible from China," the official said.

Once the decision is made, one of four THAAD batteries at Fort Bliss in Texas will be transported to the USFK within a week or two.

Russia officially expressed concerns about the THAAD deployment last week, and on Tuesday Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov called in South Korean Ambassador to Russia Park Ro-byug, warning that the THAAD deployment would tip the strategic balance in Northeast Asia and spark an arms race.

South Korean Lawmaker Suggests 'Regime Change' in North