South Korea remains a formidable candidate to supply Switzerland’s roughly 5 billion Swiss franc ($6.1 billion) second long-range air defense system, the Swiss defense ministry confirmed to AJP, denying that the contest has narrowed to a two-way race between French and Israeli suppliers. “Yes,” Switzerland’s Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport, known as the VBS, replied when asked whether South Korea was still u

South Korea has lodged complaint with Washington over U.S. Forces Korea Commander Gen. Xavier Brunson's remarks on the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) and the U.S. has sympathized with its concerns, according to a government source Monday. Seoul conveyed its concerns through multiple diplomatic and military channels, and Washington responded that it recognized and understood South Korea's position, according to the source. The dispute follows Brunson

South Korea's defense ministry on Sunday distanced itself from U.S. Forces Korea Commander Gen. Xavier Brunson's remarks that South Korea begins at the southern edge of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), calling them his personal views as the United Nations Command (UNC) sought to clarify its position. Brunson made the remarks Wednesday at a forum hosted by the Gold Institute for International Strategy in Washington. Brunson, who also heads the UNC an

South Korea and U.S. Forces Korea are sounding like a broken record as they repeat differing views over the conditions and timing for transferring wartime operational control to Seoul. Gen. Xavier Brunson, commander of U.S. Forces Korea (USFK), argued Wednesday in Washington that changes in the security environment and military planning require updated standards for the handover. “Because the conditions have changed, because we’ve changed our

A possible meeting between South Korean Defense Minister Kang Shin-chul and U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth later this month remains uncertain, as Washington has yet to confirm its attendance at a regional defense gathering, South Korea's defense ministry said Wednesday. An official from the ministry's spokesperson's office told AJP that Kang is expected to attend the ASEAN Defense Ministers' Meeting Plus (ADMM+) in the Philippines in la

U.S. Forces Korea Commander Gen. Xavier Brunson has called for changes to large-scale South Korea-U.S. military exercises, saying the allies need more dispersed training across the Korean Peninsula as North Korea gains battlefield experience from the war in Ukraine. Speaking Monday at the Association of the United States Army's annual meeting in Washington, Brunson said the allies currently conduct two major command-post exercises each year but need to

North Korea fired multiple ballistic missiles from the Pyongyang area toward the East Sea on Monday morning, with at least one type traveling more than 900 kilometers, South Korea’s military said. The Joint Chiefs of Staff said it detected the launches from around 9:20 a.m. and that South Korean and U.S. intelligence authorities were conducting a detailed analysis of the missiles’ specifications. “At around 9:20 a.m. today, our military

South Korea’s defense minister said Wednesday the country should gradually scale back and ultimately abolish special military service arrangements for elite athletes and artists amid controversy fueling debate over fairness in the conscription system following the Asian Games. “Gradually reducing it and ultimately abolishing it is the Defense Ministry’s goal,” Defense Minister Kang Shin-chul said during the National Assembly’s

The Military Demarcation Line has bisected the Korean Peninsula since 1953. More than seven decades later, South Korea, the United Nations Command and North Korea are realizing they may not be using exactly the same references to locate it on the ground. For Seoul, the rude awakening came after South Korea and the UNC concluded that North Korean mines planted about 10 meters south of the MDL caused last month’s explosions that injured three South Kore