DTN News: South Korea Vows Counter-Attack If North Opens Fire During Drills

DTN News: South Korea Vows Counter-Attack If North Opens Fire During Drills

Source: DTN News / VOA By Steve Herman

(NSI News Source Info) SEOUL, South Korea - August 4, 2010: South Korean military officials say they are ready to respond if North Korea carries out its threat to attack during the South's latest military drills. The drills are part of South Korea's response to the sinking of one of its navy ships in March, an act blamed on Pyongyang.

South Korea's Defense Ministry says the exercise, which begins Thursday, will involve a submarine, a destroyer and nearly 30 other vessels, as well as aircraft. Forty-five hundred army, navy, air force and coast guard troops will be deployed.

Korean Navy, South Korean destroyer Choi Young fires during a joint military drills in South Korea's East Sea on Tuesday, July 27, 2010. U.S. and South Korean naval ships fired artillery and dropped anti-submarine bombs off South Korea's east coast Tuesday, the third day of high-profile military maneuvers intended to warn North Korea against any aggression.

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A North Korean soldier takes picture of the southern side of the cross-border village of Panmunjeom on July 27, 2010, on the day of the 57th anniversary of signing the Korean War armistice. The US and South Korean military practised attacks on potential seaborne North Korean infiltrators on the third day of a major naval exercise designed to deter the communist state

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Military officials say they will keep ships far south of a maritime border that North Korea disputes. But marines on islands near the Northern Limit Line in the Yellow Sea will conduct live-fire exercises. Navy Rear Admiral Kim Kyung-Sik says if North Korea makes good on its threat to open fire, South Korea "will stage an immediate counter-attack." Admiral Kim says a close eye will be kept on the enemy. He adds South Korea's military will not tolerate provocations and is ready, during the drill, for any circumstances. North Korea threatens "strong physical retaliation" in response to the South Korean exercise. A respected daily newspaper in Seoul, the Chosun Ilbo, quotes a military source saying the North has repositioned some missiles near the border, posing a threat to South Korean military jets. Defense official here say the five-day drill is the second in a series of war games to be staged this year in response to the attack on the Cheonan. The South Korean navy vessel sank in March after an explosion in the Yellow Sea, killing 46 sailors. An international investigation blames a North Korean torpedo for the sinking. Last week, the United States joined South Korea in one of region's largest joint military exercises in recent years. The exercise in the Sea of Japan included an American aircraft carrier and stealth fighter jets. South Korea's military had wanted to hold that exercise in the Yellow Sea, but China strongly objected because it would be close to its territorial waters. China began its own air defense drills Tuesday. The Xinhua news agency says the five-day exercise involves 12,000 personnel in two provinces. Later this month, the U.S. and South Korea hold an annual 10-day exercise, known as Ulchi Freedom Guardian. The U.S. military say that drill is meant to ensure the allies are "fully prepared to respond to any potential provocations." The latest military maneuvers come as the Korean peninsula marks 60 years since the start of the Korean War. Fighting ended in 1953 with a truce, but since Pyongyang and Seoul have never signed a peace treaty, they remain technically at war.

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• US Officials in Asia to Explain New Sanctions Targeting North Korea
• North Korea, UN Command Meet Again on Cheonan Incident
• US, South Korea Commanders Pleased as Joint Military Exercise Ends

DTN News: U.S. Aircraft Carrier Leads Drills With South Korea

DTN News: U.S. Aircraft Carrier Leads Drills With South Korea

Source: DTN News - - this article / report compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources including AP

(NSI News Source Info) ABOARD USS GEORGE WASHINGTON, - July 25, 2010: A nuclear-powered U.S. supercarrier led an armada of warships in exercises off the Korean peninsula on Sunday that North Korea has vowed to physically block and says could escalate into nuclear war. U.S. military officials said the manoeuvres, conducted with South Korean ships and Japanese observers, were intended to send a strong signal to the North that aggression in the region will not be tolerated. Tensions on the Korean peninsula have been particularly high since the sinking in March of a South Korean naval vessel. Forty six Korean sailors were killed in the sinking, which Seoul has called Pyongyang’s worst military attack on it since the 1950-53 Korean War. The military drills, code-named “Invincible Spirit,” are to run through Wednesday with about 8,000 U.S. and South Korean troops, 20 ships and submarines and 200 aircraft. The Nimitz-class USS George Washington was deployed from Japan. “We are showing our resolve,” said Capt. David Lausman, the carrier’s commanding officer. North Korea has protested the drills, threatening to retaliate with “nuclear deterrence” and “sacred war.” The North routinely threatens attacks whenever South Korea and the U.S. hold joint military drills, which Pyongyang sees as a rehearsal for an invasion. The U.S. keeps 28,500 troops in South Korea and another 50,000 in Japan, but says it has no intention of invading the North. Still, the North’s latest rhetoric carries extra weight following the sinking of the Cheonan. Capt. Ross Myers, the commander of the carrier’s air wing, said the exercises were not intended to raise tensions, but acknowledged they are meant to get North Korea’s attention. The George Washington, one of the biggest ships in the U.S. Navy, is a potent symbol of American military power, with about 5,000 sailors and aviators and the capacity to carry up to 70 planes. “North Korea may contend that it is a provocation, but I would say the opposite,” he said. “It is a provocation to those who don’t want peace and stability. North Korea doesn’t want this. They know that one of South Korea’s strengths is its alliance with the United States.” He said that North Korea’s threats to retaliate were being taken seriously. “There is a lot they can do,” he said. “They have ships, they have subs, they have airplanes. They are a credible threat.” The exercises are the first in a series of U.S.-South Korean manoeuvres to be conducted in the East Sea off South Korea’s east coast and in the Yellow Sea closer to China’s shores in international waters. The exercises also are the first to employ the F-22 stealth fighter — which can evade North Korean air defences — in South Korea. South Korea was closely monitoring North Korea’s military but spotted no unusual activity Sunday, the Defence Ministry said. North Korea, which denies any involvement in the sinking of the Cheonan, warned the United States against holding the drills. “Our military and people will squarely respond to the nuclear war preparation by the American imperialists and the South Korean puppet regime with our powerful nuclear deterrent,” the North’s government-run Minju Joson newspaper said in a commentary Sunday headlined, “We also have nuclear weapons.” The commentary was carried by the official Korean Central News Agency. The North’s powerful National Defence Commission issued a similar threat Saturday, saying the country “will start a retaliatory sacred war ... based on nuclear deterrent any time necessary in order to counter the U.S.” The country’s Foreign Ministry separately said on Saturday that Pyongyang is considering “powerful physical measures” in response to the U.S. military drills and sanctions. Though the impoverished North has a large conventional military and the capability to build nuclear weapons, it is not believed to have the technology needed to use nuclear devices as warheads. North Korea has been in increasingly difficult diplomatic straits since the Cheonan incident. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton announced on Wednesday, after visiting the Demilitarised Zone dividing the two Koreas, that the U.S. would slap new sanctions on the North to stifle its nuclear ambitions and punish it for the Cheonan sinking. On Friday, the European Union said it, too, would consider new sanctions on North Korea.

Related News

*Video: US and South Korea start war games

ITN NEWS

*US-S.Korea military exercises begin Washington Post *National Post - Xinhua - Voice of America - New York Times

DTN News: "Deep concern" Over Ship Sinking: Asian Forum

DTN News: "Deep concern" Over Ship Sinking: Asian Forum

Source: DTN News / By Ian Timberlake (AFP)

(NSI News Source Info) HANOI, Vietnam - July 20, 2010: HANOI — Asia's largest security forum has "deep concern" over the sinking of a South Korean warship, according to a draft chairman's statement obtained on Monday. "The ministers expressed deep concern over the sinking of the Republic of Korea's naval ship, the Cheonan," says the draft prepared for foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Regional Forum (ARF), which is to meet Friday in Hanoi. South Korea had said it wanted ARF to condemn North Korea for the torpedo attack which broke the corvette in two in March with the loss of 46 lives. Pyongyang vehemently denies involvement despite the findings of a multinational investigation, and said it was ready to retaliate if punished. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and foreign ministers of North and South Korea, Japan, Russia and China are among those expected at the meeting of the 27-member ARF. The ministers "called on all concerned parties to exercise self-restraint and resolve all disputes by peaceful means for the sake of peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and in the region," according to the draft. It said ARF ministers "expressed support for" the statement issued on July 9 by the United Nations Security Council. The UN voiced deep concern at the findings of the multinational investigation and condemned the Cheonan attack. But it did not apportion blame -- a result hailed by Pyongyang as a "great diplomatic victory". Permanent Security Council members China and Russia ensured the UN's statement was "very soft and indirect," contrary to what Washington and Seoul had urged, University of Sydney Korean studies lecturer Leonid Petrov said. In the draft ARF statement, ministers encouraged the parties to return to multilateral talks "with a view to achieving the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula for its lasting peace and stability." The draft was prepared by communist Vietnam, which will chair the ARF meeting. Vietnam has major business links with South Korea but sees the North as an ideological ally. After the UN's statement, nuclear-armed North Korea said it was willing in principle to return to the "Six-Party" disarmament talks which it abandoned last year. The talks involved China, Japan, the two Koreas, Russia and the US. Kurt Campbell, US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia, said Pyongyang would have to demonstrate a commitment to change its "provocative ways" before dialogue would start. North Korea can be expected to make more efforts at the ARF to "mend bridges" with Washington and perhaps Seoul, while believing it can "continue extorting concessions and aid," Petrov said. "But it's not going to lead anywhere unless North Korea undertakes a major reform. Pyongyang doesn't understand this," he said. A US aircraft carrier and three destroyers will visit South Korea this week ahead of a naval exercise to deter North Korea following the Cheonan sinking, officials said Monday. Clinton and US Defense Secretary Robert Gates will hold talks with their counterparts in Seoul on Wednesday, in a show of solidarity after the sinking.

DTN News: South Korea Rules Out DPRK's Involvement In Warship Sinking

DTN News: South Korea Rules Out DPRK's Involvement In Warship Sinking Source: DTN News / Xinhua (NSI News Source Info) SEOUL, South Korea - March 27, 2010: Chances seem low that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea is involved in its warship sinking, said South Korean officials at the presidential office on Saturday. "It is hard to say for sure now, but chances appear to be slim that North (DPRK) was related," a senior official told Yonhap on condition of anonymity. A South Korean naval ship, the Cheonan, sinks near South Korea's Baeknyeong Island, close to North Korea, in the western waters on Saturday, March 27, 2010. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) "Given the investigations by government ministries so far, it is the government's judgment that the incident was not caused by North Korea, although the reason for the accident has not been determined yet," a senior government official was quoted. "An unidentified reason caused a hole in the ship, which led to its sinking. Rescue efforts are under way," the Defense Ministry said. "The ship fired a warning shot at an unidentified object, and the object was later suspected to have been a flock of birds. But we are checking," it said. Cheong Wa Dae said that there has been no "unusual move" by Pyongyang so far despite initial media reports that the DPRK "might be to blame for the incident" that happened Friday night near the disputed western sea border between the two sides. Initial media reports said the incident might be caused by a possible torpedo attack from an unidentified DPRK vessel, citing military sources. The Democratic People's Republic of Korea has not responded to the incident. South Korean President Lee Myung-bak called an emergency security meeting and ordered a "quick and thorough" investigation Saturday into the caused of the sinking, and investigators are asked to keep in mind "all possibilities", his office said. He also urged the military to make "all-out efforts" to rescue as many survivors as possible. He had instructed his government to update other members of the six-party nuclear talks with the development of the incident, while urging government agencies to take measures to reassure the public, Presidential Office spokeswoman Kim Eun-hye said at a press briefing after the meeting.

Rescue operation to search for the 46 missing sailors is still underway Saturday, Yonhap News Agency reported. "Many of the missing people might have been trapped inside the sunken ship," JCS (the Joint Chief of Staff) spokesman Lee Ki-Sik told a parliament committee. So far, 58 out of the 104 crew members aboard the 1,200-ton ship that sank off the west coast of the Korean Peninsula have been rescued, with two of them hospitalized for minor cerebral hemorrhage, the agency said. The ship "Cheonan" went down off the South Korean island of Baekryeongdo off the west coast around 21:45 p.m. Friday local time (12:45 GMT Friday), with an explosion in the back of the ship, and another South Korean naval vessel fired at an unspecified target toward the north in response. The vessel could be carrying French-made Exocet and U.S.-made Harpoon anti-ship missiles as well as torpedoes and other weaponry. Navy and the National Maritime Police Agency have sent nine ships and a helicopter to the waters near the Baehryeongdo, and planned to mobilize Navy's all rescue force to search for the missing. The militaries will send divers to help find out whether the ship-based artillery shells or external attack caused the explosion, but authorities said they cannot reach any conclusion until the sunken ship is recovered and examined. A U.S. State Department spokesman said his country is closely following the development of the incident. Related News: S Korean Navy ship sinks possibly caused by mine explosion: YTN SEOUL, March 27 (Xinhua) -- Friday's Navy ship sinking might be caused by mine explosion, South Korean media YTN quoted presidential sources as saying on Saturday. General of the South Korean Navy Lee Ki-shik said later Friday that the 1,200-ton warship Cheonan went down after the unexplained explosion ripped a hole in the ship's bottom. Full story

Rescue continues in S Korean ship sinking, 46 still missing SEOUL, March 27 (Xinhua) -- The rescue operation to search for the 46 missing sailors of a South Korean ship that sank late Friday is still under Saturday, Seoul's Yonhap News Agency reported. So far, 58 out of the 104 crew members aboard the 1,200-ton ship that sank off the west coast of the Korean Peninsula have been rescued, with two of them hospitalized for minor cerebral hemorrhage, the agency said. Earlier reports said 60 sailors have been rescued. Full story

58 crew members of sinking S. Korean navy ship rescued SEOUL, March 26 (Xinhua) -- Fifty-eight crew members of just- sinking South Korean navy ship were rescued till 00:30 a.m. (1530 GMT Friday), as rescue operation is still underway, according to local media. A South Korean naval vessel with 104 crew members onboard is sinking into waters off the west coast of the Korean Peninsula late Friday, possibly due to attacks from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), local media reported, citing naval officials. Full story Chances of DPRK's involvement in warship sinking appear low: Yonhap SEOUL, March 27 (Xinhua) -- South Korean officials are narrowing down the possibilities that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) is involved in a South Korean navy patrol ship sinking, according to local media Saturday. Likelihood of the DPRK's involvement in the incident seems low, Seoul's Yonhap News Agency quoted multiple officials at the Presidential Office of Cheong Wa Dae as saying. Full story No sign of DPRK military near ship BEIJING, Mar. 27 -- There was no sign of military of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) in the area where a South Korean naval ship sank, Yonhap quoted a presidential official as saying on Saturday. There had been earlier suggestions that the vessel may have been attacked on Friday night by DPRK near the disputed sea border. Full story

DTN News: Red Alert Update II ~ Keeping an Eye on the Peninsula / Red Alert (Update) ~ South Korean Ship Sinking

DTN News: Red Alert Update II ~ Keeping an Eye on the Peninsula / Red Alert (Update) ~ South Korean Ship Sinking Source: STRATFOR (NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - March 27, 2010: A South Korean presidential spokesman said North Korea did not cause the sinking of the South Korean vessel Cho An. Even though lack of subsequent military conflict shows that the incident has now become a political event, the maritime boundary of the Korean Peninsula should be watched closely in the coming days to see how the incident fits within Pyongyang’s attempts to hold its own as it approaches the resumption of international negotiations and an important leadership transition. A South Korean ship has been sunk in the vicinity of the maritime border with North Korea. While details are sketchy, initial reports suggest that some South Korean naval ships had been involved in combat with an unidentified ship in the area immediately preceding the incident. Other reports suggest that the ship was struck by a torpedo. Yet another indicates a stern explosion. Tensions between the two Koreas have always been at least moderately high, but previous governments in the South have tended to seek a rapprochement. That warming has cooled significantly in recent months; one result has been occasional naval skirmishes. There are three issues to keep in mind when evaluating the potential for an inter-Korean conflict. First, the South Korean army, air force and navy are far better equipped and run than the North’s, despite the North’s numerical superiority when it comes to men in uniform. Stratfor has little doubt that the South could ultimately prevail in a military conflict. But – and this is the second issue – it would come at a massive cost. The North maintains many thousands of artillery emplacements within range of Seoul. So while the South’s military is superior by most measures, the North could quite easily decimate the South’s capital and largest city. Roughly one in four South Koreans live in Seoul. Third, the South Koreans are not alone. Despite recent shifts in American military posture, the United States still maintains 25,000 troops in South Korea – so an inter-Korean conflict immediately escalates to a global issue. *This article is being posted from Toronto, Canada By DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News, contact: dtnnews@ymail.com

DTN News: South Korean Navy Ship Sinks Near Border With North

DTN News: South Korean Navy Ship Sinks Near Border With North Source: DTN News / AFP (NSI News Source Info) SEOUL, South Korean - March 27, 2010: A South Korean navy ship with 104 people on board sank near the North Korean border Friday after an unexplained explosion, military officials said, and a news report said several sailors were killed. South Korea's government called an emergency security meeting but a presidential spokeswoman said it was still unclear whether the sinking resulted from a clash with North Korea. Another South Korean naval vessel had opened fire on an unidentified object but it was later found to be a flock of birds, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said. The Cheonan, a 1,200-ton corvette, sank late in the evening near Baengnyeong island in the Yellow Sea, which lies between the Korean peninsula and China. Media reports said six naval ships, two coastguard vessels and four other craft were involved in a rescue operation. A JCS spokesman said 58 crew members had so far been rescued but had no details on any fatalities. Yonhap news agency quoted naval officials as saying several bodies were retrieved but gave no exact figure. Seven crewmen were airlifted to hospital. "For now, it is not certain whether North Korea is related" to the incident, presidential spokeswoman Kim Eun-Hye said, adding President Lee Myung-Bak had ordered maximum efforts to rescue the crewmen. "Finding the truth (behind the incident) is important, but saving our sailors is more important," the president was quoted as saying. Another emergency meeting was to be held Saturday morning. A government source quoted by Yonhap news agency said officials were investigating various possible causes: an attack by a North Korean torpedo boat, a mine laid by North Korea or an explosion of munitions aboard the ship. YTN television, quoting an unidentified presidential official, said the ship was well south of the border and North Korean ships were unlikely to be in the area. A military source told the agency the Cheonan was holed in the stern near its propeller. The JCS said there were no abnormal military movements on the North Korean side of the disputed maritime border, which was the scene of deadly naval clashes in 1999 and 2002. Last November the navies of the two sides exchanged fire in the area. Seoul's officials said a North Korean patrol boat had retreated in flames but its casualties were unknown. No South Koreans were hurt. The North refuses to accept the maritime border known as the Northern Limit Line, which was drawn up by United Nations forces after the 1950-53 Korean war. It says the line should run further to the south. In January the North fired 370 artillery shells into the sea near the border, raising tensions between the two sides.

DTN News: South Korea To Produce Red Shark Torpedoes

DTN News: South Korea To Produce Red Shark Torpedoes *Source: DTN News / Int'l Media (NSI News Source Info) SEOUL, South Korea - August 24, 2009: South Korea has given the production go-ahead for the first 70 Hongsangeo anti-submarine torpedoes for deployment between 2010 and 2012, the government has said. The nearly 18-foot, two-stage, precision-guided torpedoes are launched vertically and fly for around 12 miles before parachuting into the sea and heading for their target. Up to 70 of the long-range ship-to-submarine light torpedoes, called Red Shark in English, will be operational aboard some of South Korea's newest country's destroyers, the KDX-I/II, according to the procurement agency Defense Acquisition Program Administration. After nine years of development, the final tests were completed earlier this year, the DAPA's sister organization the state-funded Agency for Defense Development announced in June. Deployment is in response to a growing threat from North Korean submarines, the ADD noted. The nearly 18-foot, two-stage, precision-guided torpedoes are launched vertically and fly for around 12 miles before parachuting into the sea and heading for their target. Production of the torpedoes is expected to cost around $145 million with more being manufactured beginning in 2013. South Korean missile manufacturer LIG Nex1 co-developed the torpedo with the ADD at a cost of around $80 million, the ADD said. The 14-foot, two-stage, solid fuel vertical launch ASROC missile was first made by Lockheed Martin in 1993 after nearly 10 years of development and production problems. Range is around 14 miles and they have carried several types of torpedoes, lately the Mark 46. The ADD and LIG Nex1 have cooperated on other so-called shark-series torpedoes, the Blue and Cheongsangeo (Blue Shark) light torpedo and Baeksangeo (White Shark) heavy torpedo. South Korea first test fired the Cheongsangeo (Blue Shark), missile in 2004. It can be launched from both sea vessels and aircraft such as helicopters and the Lockheed Martin PC-3 Orion maritime patrol aircraft, according to a report in the South Korean national Yonhap News Agency. Deployment on the KDX-II destroyers, part of a ship-building program to develop several classes of destroyers, will help enhance South Korea's move into a blue-water navy, meaning operating across wide expanses of ocean. The lead ship of the Chungmugong Yi Sunshin class, called the ROKS Chungmugong Yi Sunshin, was commissioned in December 2003. All six of the planned 500-foot ships have been commissioned. Hull design of the 4,400 ton displacement class is by Hyundai Heavy Industries and ships are built by Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering. The ships also carry Hyunmoo III (Korean Tomahawk) cruise missiles for land attack as well as RIM-116 rolling airframe missiles and Hae Sung (Korean Harpoon) ship-to-ship missiles.

South Korean Navy To Deploy For Somalia Mission

South Korean Navy To Deploy For Somalia Mission

(NSI News Source Info) SEOUL - March 4, 2009: South Korea's Navy will send an anti-piracy unit to the Somalia littorals within weeks, its first overseas combat deployment, service officials said March 3. The announcement followed the National Assembly's March 2 endorsement of a motion for deployment. It also followed days of rehearsal operations by the new unit, named Cheonghae, in the waters off the southern port city of Busan. Chungmugong Yi Sunshin class destroyers are multipurpose destroyers of the Republic of Korea Navy. The lead ship of this class, ROKS Chungmugong Yi Sunshin, was launched in May 2002 and commissioned in December 2003. Chungmugong Yi Sunshin class destroyers are a part of the Republic of Korea Navy's shipbuilding program named "KDX-II", which paved the way for becoming a blue-water navy. The design of the hull was designed by Hyundai Heavy Industries and the first ship built by Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering. The Korean contingent includes a 4,500-ton KDX-II destroyer, a Lynx anti-submarine helicopter, rigid inflatable speedboats and 300 personnel, including 30 Underwater Demolition Team/SEAL forces. An explosive ordnance disposal team will also join the contingent. During its planned six-month deployment, the unit will focus on escorting South Korean commercial ships through the Gulf of Aden, an effort to protect the nation's economic interests, said Cmdr. Yoo Young-shik, chief of the Navy's public affairs office. If required, it will also monitor, inspect, stop and seize pirates' vessels as part of the Combined Task Force 151, a multinational naval task force with logistics facilities at Djibouti under the command of the Combined Forces Maritime Component Command based in Bahrain, Yoo said. The task force is responsible for maritime security from the Red Sea down the east coast of Africa and into the Arabian Sea toward Pakistan and India. Currently, the efforts to clamp down on piracy in the troubled waters include about 21 warships and five aircraft from Britain, Canada, China, Denmark, France, Greece, Germany, India, Malaysia, and the United States. South Korean officials express confidence in the Navy's counterpiracy operations, citing the service's close-range combat skills accrued from decades of training to thwart North Korean ships. The KDX-II destroyer is equipped with an Mk. 45 127mm gun, Harpoon ship-to-surface missiles, RAM Mk 31 ship-to-air guided missiles, a 30mm Goalkeeper system for engaging sea-skimming anti-ship missiles and torpedoes. Built in 2003, the 150-meter-long, 17-meter-wide ship has a top speed of 29 knots. South Korean cargo ships have also been hijacked in recent years. Somali pirates held eight crewmembers of two Dongwon Fisheries tuna ships for four months before releasing them in 2006 for a ransom of $800. Two Daechang Fishing boats were hijacked in May last year, and their 25 crewmembers were released six months later. In September, pirates kidnapped a cargo vessel carrying eight South Korean and 13 Myanmar crewmembers, releasing them the following month after the ship's owner paid a ransom. The Somali pirates reportedly run sophisticated operations using high-tech equipment such as satellite phones and GPS receivers. They are known to receive information from contacts at ports in the Gulf of Aden and use speedboats with very powerful outboard motors to approach their targets. Sometimes the speedboats are launched from much larger "mother ships" on the high seas. Located along the route of a crude-oil pipeline connecting the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean and racked by civil war, Somalia's coastline has become infamous for piracy. Each year, about 20,000 ships sail throughout the Gulf of Aden headed for the Suez Canal, an important shipping route for international trade that links Europe to the Middle East and Asia. The International Maritime Organization counted 111 attacks in 2008 in the Arablic Sea near Somalia, the most notorious location for such activity. A March 3 ceremony in Busan marked the commissioning of the new unit, the service said in a news release. "The inauguration of the Cheonghae unit this year, which marks the 100th anniversary of the Navy's founder, the late Adm. Sohn Won-il, will serve as a starting point for our Navy to make history and build a naval power to sustain us over the next 100 years," Adm. Jung Ok-keun, South Korea's chief of naval operations, said in a speech at the ceremony at Naval Operations Command.

South Korea Eyes Fighter Jet For Landing Ship

South Korea Eyes Fighter Jet For Landing Ship

(NSI News Source Info) March 2, 2009: South Korea is looking at introducing the U.S. Lockheed Martin-built F-35B fighter variant, to fly from its 14,000-ton Dokdo large-deck landing ship, along with the F-35A air force version, as part of mid- and long-term force improvement plans, a source here said Sunday. The move comes as the country’s arms procurement agency, Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), is preparing to open the third-phase F-X fighter acquisition program in the coming years, he said. DAPA said earlier that it would launch the next-phase F-X bid by 2011, with the aim of deploying the planes between 2014 and 2019. In a related event, a group of Pentagon officials gave a briefing on the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program to DAPA officials in Seoul early last month at the request of the arms agency, said the source. “The agency is conducting preliminary research on the next-phase fighter acquisition program and collecting information about foreign fighters, including the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter,” the source told The Korea Times on condition of anonymity. As for the JSF, which is under development, he said, the agency previously focused on the F-35A conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) variant for the Air Force but is now thinking also about the F-35B short takeoff and vertical landing (STOVL) variant for the Marine Corps or Navy. There will be another variant for the Navy, the F-35C, to fly from aircraft carriers. Japan, Israel and Taiwan are reportedly interested in the F-35B version. “The F-35B is a fifth generation fighter that will provide a quantum leap in capability, basing flexibility, and mission execution across the full spectrum of conflict,” a U.S. Marine Corps official said, asking not to be named. South Korea’s Navy launched its first Dokdo Landing Platform Helicopter (LPH 6111) in 2005 and wants to have one more Dokdo-class carriers by 2016. The 199-meter-long, 31-meter-wide vessel is the largest helicopter transporter in Asia and will serve as a light aircraft carrier to orchestrate the Korean Navy’s future strategic mobile squadron. Experts have said when the landing ship is equipped with a ski jump module, vertical or short takeoff and landing aircraft such as the Harrier or the F-35B will be able to be launched from the deck. Observers say the latest move appears to reflect Seoul’s strong interest in the JSF, also known as Lightening II, as a candidate for the upcoming F-X deal, for which Boeing’s F-15K NF III, Saab’s Gripen NG, Eurofighter’s Typhoon and others are also expected to compete. The F-X aims to equip the South Korean Air Force with 120 advanced high-end fighters by 2020 to replace its aging fighter fleet. The U.S. Boeing Company won South Korean orders for batches of 40 and 21 F-15s in two previous deals. Lockheed’s F-22 Raptor is also on the list of candidates, but chances for Seoul to buy the fifth-generation stealth fighter are slim due to financial and legal problems. U.S. technology protection law forbids the export of the world’s most advanced F-22s, whose per-unit cost is some $200 million. In that context, the F-35, with similar capabilities to those of the F-22, has often referred to as a viable candidate. The fifth-generation F-35, fitted with radar-evading stealth technology, is a single-seat, single-engine multi-role fighter jet that can perform close air support, tactical bombing and air defense missions. The price tag for the F-35A is about $60 million, while those for the F-35B and F-35C are expected to cost in the upper $80 to $90 million range, respectively, according to Lockheed Martin officials. The F-35B version is slated to enter service first with the U.S. Marines in 2012, followed by the F-35A in 2013 and the F-35C in 2015. The JSF development is being funded by nine major partners, the United States, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Italy, Canada, Turkey, Australia, Norway and Denmark. The partners plan to acquire over 3,100 F-35s through 2035, according to reports. Lockheed officials say delivery of the conventional-takeoff-and-landing F-35A for South Korea would begin in 2014 if a contract is signed before 2010.

North Korea Scraps All Accords With South Korea / North Korea Tears Up Agreements

North Korea Scraps All Accords With South Korea / North Korea Tears Up Agreements

(NSI News Source Info) SEOUL - January 30, 2009: North Korea announced Friday it is scrapping agreements with South Korea on easing military tensions, accusing Seoul of pushing relations to the brink of war.

The communist state said all political and military agreements would be nullified, including one covering their Yellow Sea border - the scene of bloody naval clashes in 1999 and 2002. The statement from the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea, a state body, further raised tensions after months of icy relations.

It comes less than two weeks after the North's army threatened an "all-out confrontational posture" against Seoul. South Korea stepped up border monitoring and vowed to respond firmly to any violation, but said no unusual activities have been detected.

It expressed "deep regret" at Pyongyang's move and renewed an offer of dialogue. “The confrontation between the north and the south in the political and military fields has been put to such extremes that inter-Korean relations have reached the brink of a war," the North's statement said.

It blasted the conservative South Korean government of President Lee Myung-Bak for "ruthlessly scrapping" pacts reached at summits in 2000 and 2007. Lee, who took office a year ago, rolled back the "sunshine" engagement policy of his liberal predecessors and said he would review the summit pacts.

"The group of traitors has already reduced all the agreements reached between the north and the south in the past to dead documents," the committee said in the statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency.

South Korean Army soldiers patrol along the barbed-wire fence in Paju, north of Seoul, near the demilitarized zone (DMZ) of Panmunjom, South Korea. South Korean guard post in the eastern part of the Demilitarized Zone that divides the Korean Peninsula.

"Under such situation it is self-evident that there is no need for the DPRK (North Korea) to remain bound to those north-south agreements." The North has also staked out a tough position in stalled nuclear disarmament negotiations with the United States and four regional partners. Pyongyang, which staged a nuclear test in 2006, has said it may keep its atomic weapons even after ties are established with Washington, as long as any US nuclear threat remains.

Analysts believe the North is raising tensions to ensure it remains a diplomatic priority for the new Obama administration, and is also pressuring Seoul to reverse its tough stance. "This is something bad.

The North is apparently paving the way for military provocations," Yoo Ho-Yeol, a professor at Korea University, told AFP. "It is also seeking to shift responsibility for a possible military clash to the South." Paik Hak-Soon of the Sejong Institute think-tank said armed clashes may break out soon.

But Baek Seung-Joo of the Korea Institute for Defence Analyses told AFP the statement aims at "heaping pressure on Lee Myung-Bak" and does not mean clashes are more likely. The North refuses to recognise the Northern Limit Line, a sea border drawn unilaterally by US-led United Nations forces after the 1950-1953 war.

The two sides have remained technically at war since 1953 because the conflict ended without a peace treaty. But a 1991 reconciliation pact which the North has now nullified implicitly recognised the line as an interim border.

After a naval clash in June 1999 which killed dozens of North Korean sailors, the North demanded the border be redrawn. Six South Koreans were killed in another sea clash in June 2002, while the North's casualties were believed to be heavier. Since Lee took office the North has cut all official contacts with the South.

Last December it expelled hundreds of South Koreans from a joint industrial estate and tightened border controls. On January 17 its army General Staff warned it would not allow South Korean intrusions into the disputed Yellow Sea waters.

However, leader Kim Jong-Il was quoted last week as saying he hopes to push ahead with disarmament talks and does not want to raise tensions with the South.

South Korea's DSRV II Achieves Record-Breaking Dive

South Korea's DSRV II Achieves Record-Breaking Dive

(NSI News Source Info) January 29, 2009: The Republic of Korea Navy's (RoKN's) new deep submergence rescue vehicle (DSRV) achieved a depth of 507 m during sea acceptance tests - the deepest recorded dive in the navy's history - programme partner Lloyd's Register announced on 19 January. Built by UK-based James Fisher Defence, RoKS DSRV II is intended to lock onto the escape hatch of a disabled submarine and transfer up to 16 personnel under pressure into a decompression facility on board a mothership. On 8 December, the submersible mated with the Chang Bogo-class (Type 209/1200) submarine RoKS Na Daeyong at a depth of 150 m. The next day DSRV II achieved its record-breaking dive and completed an inclination test.