Seoul, May 12 (IANS) South Korea and the United States have agreed to work together to strengthen cooperation in areas of “mutual security interest,” including Seoul’s push to retake wartime operational control (OPCON) from Washington and joint efforts to modernise the alliance.Defence Minister Ahn Gyu-back and US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth expressed the commitments during their talks at the Pentagon on Monday (US time) as Seoul seeks to regain wartime command from the US as part of broader …
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Seoul/Washington May 11 (IANS) The top defence chiefs of South Korea and the United States held talks in Washington on Monday, focusing on advancing the transfer of wartime operational control (OPCON) from Washington to Seoul and Korea’s push to acquire nuclear-powered submarines.Defence Minister Ahn Gyu-back met one-on-one with US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth to discuss follow-up steps on the OPCON transition and nuclear-powered submarines, in line with the agreements reached between the lead…
Washington, May 11 (IANS) The top defence chiefs of South Korea and the United States are set to hold talks in Washington on Monday, focusing on advancing the transfer of wartime operational control (OPCON) from Washington to Seoul and Korea’s push to acquire nuclear-powered submarines. Defence Minister Ahn Gyu-back will meet US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth to discuss follow-up steps on the OPCON transition and nuclear-powered submarines, in line with the agreements reached between the leaders…
Seoul, May 10 (IANS) South Korean Defence Minister Ahn Gyu-back said on Sunday that South Korea and the United States face “no major issues” in accelerating the transfer of wartime operational control (OPCON), stressing that the allies have made “significant progress” in meeting the conditions agreed upon by the two sides for the transition. Ahn made the remarks before departing for Washington for talks with US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, scheduled for Monday (US time), as Seoul is seeking t…
Dubai, May 9 (IANS) A South Korean government team continued its investigation Saturday into the cause of a fire aboard a cargo ship operated by Korean shipping firm HMM while it was stranded in the Strait of Hormuz, officials said.The HMM Namu, a Panama-flagged cargo ship operated by HMM, arrived at Drydocks World Dubai, the Middle East’s largest ship repair yard, early on Friday (local time) and has since been undergoing an inspection by a government investigation team, reports Yonhap news age…
Seoul, April 3 (IANS) The defence chiefs of South Korea and France held talks in Seoul on Friday to discuss the regional security situation and ways to strengthen their bilateral defence and arms industry cooperation, the South Korea’s defence ministry said. The talks between Defence Minister Ahn Gyu-back and his French counterpart, Catherine Vautrin, took place on the occasion of summit talks between South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and French President Emmanuel Macron in Seoul.In the defen…
Seoul, Feb 12 (IANS) South Korea’s defence ministry has identified around 180 military personnel as having been involved in former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s short-lived martial law bid in late 2024 and plans to take measures against them, including disciplinary actions, officials said on Thursday.The ministry released the figure following a month-long investigation into about 860 officers from 24 military commands and units alleged to have been involved in the martial law imposition in December …
Seoul, Feb 5 (IANS) South Korea’s Defence Minister Ahn Gyu-back will visit Saudi Arabia this week to attend a major defence exhibition and hold meetings with his counterparts from Riyadh, the ministry said on Thursday, as South Korea seeks to boost arms exports.As part of his five-day trip that begins Friday, Ahn will attend the biennial World Defence Show in Riyadh, where some 40 South Korean defence firms will showcase their arms products, according to the ministry.He will also hold talks with…
Seoul, Feb 4 (IANS) South Korea’s Defence Minister Ahn Gyu-back on Wednesday called for the military to push ahead with defence reform in the face of security and demographic challenges, including North Korea’s nuclear threats and a fall in the country’s population. Ahn made the remarks during a seminar on defence innovation aimed at discussing ways to build a “strong, smart military” amid a rapidly changing security environment and a decline in the number of troops, Yonhap News Agency reported….
Seoul, Jan 29 (IANS) South Korea’s Defence Minister Ahn Gyu-back departed on Thursday for Japan to hold talks with his Japanese counterpart, Shinjiro Koizumi, to discuss regional security issues and defence cooperation, the defence ministry said. Ahn departed via Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, for the Japanese port city of Yokosuka, where the US 7th Fleet is based, to attend the bilateral defence ministerial talks set for Friday.”(The defence chiefs) are expected to discuss the se…