Latest news with #AhnGyu-back
Korea Herald
2 days ago
- Politics
- Korea Herald
Defense minister calls for firm readiness as major combined drills under way
Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back has called for a firm readiness posture that can achieve victory with "minimum sacrifice in the shortest span of time" in the event of a war, as he presided over a meeting on the first day of a major summertime South Korea-US exercise. Ahn's remark came as the allies on Monday launched their annual Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise, set to run through Aug. 28, according to the defense ministry. In the meeting also attended by key officials, including the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and key commanders, Ahn called for troops to equip themselves with "realistic" capabilities through the exercise to immediately take action when necessary. At the same time, the defense chief also called for efforts to prioritize public safety while seeking to ease tensions to prevent a full-scale war. While the military said this year's exercise will be held at a similar scale compared with last year, around half of some 40 planned field training exercises will be pushed back to September as part of apparent efforts by South Korea to mend frayed ties with North Korea. The North has long denounced the allies' joint exercises as a rehearsal for an invasion against it and has a track record of staging weapons tests in response. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un denounced the combined exercise under way between Seoul and Washington as showing their will to "ignite a war" and called for a "rapid expansion" of nuclear arms, Pyongyang's state media said Tuesday. (Yonhap)
Korea Herald
04-08-2025
- Business
- Korea Herald
S. Korean military to upgrade joint command, control system
South Korea's military will upgrade the Allied Korean Joint Command and Control System in a bid to ensure a smoother transfer of wartime operational control from Washington to Seoul, the state arms procurement agency said Monday. The command and control system will be upgraded and ready for operations by 2029, under a 117.8 billion won ($84.9 million) project, according to Seoul's Defense Acquisition Program Administration. A key goal is to apply the latest technologies such as virtual desktop infrastructure, cloud-based servers and artificial intelligence to the system. It will also feature automatic Korean-to-English translation and teleconferencing to improve communication between the allies. The system's security will be enhanced, while connectivity to the US Combined Enterprise Regional Information Exchange System – Korea (Centrixs-K) will be improved. The US military's Centrixs-K network is designed to enable the secure and reliable sharing of classified information between the US and South Korea, particularly in the context of combined military operations. Critics have consistently pointed out the need to address systematic incompatibilities between AKJCCS and Centrixs-K, including language barriers. 'The AKJCCS update project will be carried out as a comprehensive upgrade of the hardware and software, almost on par with the development of a new system,' a DAPA official said in a statement. 'We plan to successfully complete the update by effectively adopting the latest technology and policies into the system in a stable manner.' This marks the first systematic upgrade to the AKJCCS since it was deployed in 2015. The transfer of military OPCON from Washington to Seoul has been a major issue between the allies for decades. South Korea's new Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back, during his National Assembly confirmation hearing last month, said completing 'the transfer (of wartime OPCON)' is the goal of the Lee Jae Myung administration. The presidential office, however, downplayed the remark as Ahn's 'personal view' and stressed that no deadline has been set. Wartime command of South Korean forces has been entrusted to a series of US generals since South Korean President Syngman Rhee "assigned all command authority" to US Gen. Douglas MacArthur in 1950, at the start of the 1950-53 Korean War. South Korea resumed peacetime OPCON of its armed forces from the US in 1994. Though Seoul and Washington have occasionally held talks on transferring wartime OPCON, the transition has been postponed multiple times due to North Korea's provocations. The commander of US Forces Korea — who also serves as the commander of the Combined Forces Command — currently retains wartime OPCON.
Korea Herald
30-07-2025
- Business
- Korea Herald
New Defense Minister heads to Poland to finalize 2nd K2 tank deal
South Korea's Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back flies to Poland on Thursday to meet with his Polish counterpart and finalize an estimated 8.8 trillion won ($6.4 million) to export a second batch of K2 tanks to Poland. Seoul's Defense Ministry said Wednesday that Ahn plans to visit the European nation from Thursday to Saturday, in his first overseas trip since taking office last week. The trip was arranged upon the request of Poland's Ministry of National Defense, according to Seoul's ministry. Throughout his three-day trip, Ahn plans to attend a signing ceremony for the deal secured and confirmed by Seoul early this month, in which Poland is expected to receive 180 new K2 tanks. Some 117 units will be manufactured by Korean defense contractor Hyundai Rotem, and the remaining will be produced by Poland's state-owned Polish Armaments Group. The ceremony will be held in Gliwice in the Upper Silesia region. In his scheduled meeting with the Polish defense minister, Ahn will discuss ways to bolster defense and arms industry cooperation between the two countries, Seoul's ministry said. Strategic security cooperation between Seoul and Warsaw to help achieve peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula will be addressed as well. "The second K2 tank agreement is our biggest single arms export contract to date and will serve as an occasion to advance the mutually beneficial cooperative ties between the two countries, based on our partnership (with Poland)," the Defense Ministry said in a statement. The latest supply contract is part of a broader framework reached between the two countries in 2022, which was valued at $44.2 billion. Besides K2 tanks, Seoul agreed to supply the country with rocket launchers and fighter jets. The agreement came as Poland decided to increase its defense spending following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February that year. Later in 2022, Hyundai Rotem signed a deal worth around $3.3 billion to supply Poland with the first batch of 180 K2 tanks. A day after the arms procurement agency here announced that Seoul had secured the second export deal on July 2, President Lee Jae Myung lauded the agreement as a 'splendid feat' for South Korea's defense sector.
Korea Herald
30-07-2025
- Business
- Korea Herald
Defense chief to visit Poland this week to sign K2 tank export deal
Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back will head to Poland this week to attend a signing ceremony for a deal to export additional K2 battle tanks and hold talks with his Polish counterpart on expanding arms cooperation, the ministry said Wednesday. Ahn will depart for the European country on Thursday for a three-day visit, according to Seoul's defense ministry. It marks his first overseas trip since taking office as the first defense chief of the Lee Jae Myung government. Ahn's trip, arranged upon Poland's request, comes after South Korea's state arms procurement agency confirmed that Polish Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz and Hyundai Rotem Co., the manufacturer of the K2 tanks, have wrapped up their final talks on the export deal. "The follow-up K2 tank agreement is the biggest single arms export contract to date and will serve as an occasion to advance the mutually beneficial cooperative ties between the two countries, based on their partnership," the defense ministry said in a release. The $6.5 billion deal follows a series of deals Poland signed in 2022 with South Korean defense companies to acquire K2 tanks, K9 self-propelled howitzers and FA-50 light attack aircraft amid the country's defense spending increase after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. As part of the visit, Ahn will also hold talks with Kosiniak-Kamysz to discuss ways to strengthen their defense and arms industry cooperation as well as collaboration for peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and in the region. (Yonhap)
Nikkei Asia
15-07-2025
- Politics
- Nikkei Asia
South Korea states intent to take wartime military control from US
Defense Washington has held operational authority over South Korean troops since war South Korean and U.S. troops conduct a joint river-crossing exercise in Yeoncheon, South Korea on March 20, 2024. © Reuters STEVEN BOROWIEC SEOUL -- South Korea's incoming defense minister said Tuesday the government will endeavor to retake wartime operational control of its troops from the U.S. The move would be a key change in how the two countries handle defending South Korea against the nuclear-armed North. Ahn Gyu-back, President Lee Jae Myung's nominee for defense minister, said the change would require "in-depth conversations with the U.S.," with the aim of having the transfer happen during the tenure of Lee, who started his five-year term in June.
