The US government has approved the sale of $800 million worth of helicopters to South Korea, the Pentagon announced Wednesday, hours after President Donald Trump said Seoul had agreed to pay more for the US military presence in the country. The Pentagon’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency said the State Department had approved the sale of […]

North Korea has stolen up to $2 billion from banks and cryptocurrency exchanges through cyberattacks to fund its nuclear missiles program, according to a United Nations report seen by AFP Wednesday. The UN is investigating at least 35 reported instances of Pyongyang “attacking financial institutions, cryptocurrency exchanges and mining activity designed to earn foreign currency,” […]

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un supervised the launch of “a new type of tactical guided weapon” as a “solemn warning” to the South, state media said Friday, a day after the North fired two missiles into the sea. Kim personally organised and guided the firing of the “state-of-the-art weaponry system” on Thursday and was […]

DefenceTalkSEOUL: North Korea’s newly developed tactical weapon is thought to be a long-range artillery piece, a government source in Seoul said Friday, hours after Pyongyang’s media reported on leader Kim Jong-un’s supervision of its recent testing. The North’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said the communist leader oversaw the test of the “ultramodern” weapon […]https://www.defencetalk.com/north-korea-may-have-tested-new-long-range-artillery-71940/

DefenceTalkSouth Korean President Moon Jae-in has embarked on a “dangerous gamble”, analysts said, after he secured only minimal concessions from Kim Jong Un to reboot the North’s nuclear negotiations with Washington. Moon flew to Pyongyang this week for his third summit with Kim seeking a concrete gesture to rekindle the stalled denuclearisation talks between the […]https://www.defencetalk.com/moons-nuclear-diplomacy-a-dangerous-gamble-analysts-71874/

DefenceTalkThe State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to the Republic of Korea (ROK) of six (6) P-8A Patrol Aircraft for an estimated cost of $2.10 billion. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency delivered the required certification notifying Congress of this possible sale today. The Republic of Korea (ROK) has requested […]https://www.defencetalk.com/south-korea-to-buy-p-8a-aircraft-and-associated-support-71861/

DefenceTalkWhen President Donald Trump announced the US would halt joint military drills with South Korea, he backed his controversial move by citing the “tremendous” costs of such exercises. On Monday, the Pentagon put a dollar amount — about $14 million — on the costs of Freedom Guardian, a large-scale joint drill that was to kick […]https://www.defencetalk.com/scrapped-drill-with-south-korea-would-have-cost-14-mn-pentagon-71732/

DefenceTalkThe Pentagon is not considering cutting back the joint US-South Korean military exercises that have drawn angry condemnation from Pyongyang ahead of a planned US-North Korea summit, an official said Thursday. “There’s been no talk of reducing anything. There’s been no talk of changing our scope,” Pentagon spokeswoman Dana White said. The exercises “are defensive […]https://www.defencetalk.com/no-plans-to-cut-back-us-south-korea-drills-pentagon-71702/

DefenceTalkNorth Korea on Wednesday (May 16) called into question a much-anticipated and unprecedented summit between its leader Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump set for next month. Pyongyang also cancelled high-level talks due on Wednesday with Seoul over the Max Thunder joint military exercises being held between the United States and South Korea, […]https://www.defencetalk.com/north-korea-casts-doubt-on-trump-summit-71681/

DefenceTalkThe United States and South Korea kicked off a low-key joint military drill Sunday as a diplomatic thaw over North Korea gathered pace. Tension on the flashpoint peninsula have showed signs of easing in recent months after the isolated, nuclear-armed North proposed summits with the South and their “imperialist enemy” the US. The annual Foal […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-south-korea-begin-low-key-army-drills-amid-diplomatic-thaw-71614/