South Korean Military News, Reports, Data, etc.

Jura said:

Mar 8, 2017

and (dated April 25, 2017) US sets up missile defense in South Korea as North shows power

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The THAAD anti-missile system could be up and running in South Korea within days despite local protests, the uncertain outcome of South Korea’s presidential election, and renewed warnings from China, according to

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Adm. Harry Harris.

Harris, commander of U.S Pacific Command, told the House Armed Services Committee Wednesday that the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system would be “operational in the coming days to be able to better defend South Korea against the growing North Korea threat.”

He said the hit-to-kill THAAD system of missile launchers and powerful X-band radars was designed to bring North Korean leader Kim Jong-un “to his senses, not to his knees.”

The U.S. began moving launchers and other equipment onto a former golf course about 135 miles southeast of Seoul in Seongju province on Wednesday despite one of the periodic protests against the placement by local residents, who fear that having THAAD in the area would make them a likely target for North Korean missiles.

South Korean officials had previously said that THAAD might not be activated before the end of 2017, according to South Korea’s Yonhap news agency, and Harris’ optimistic timeline suggested that the U.S. wanted THAAD in place before the May 5 presidential election in South Korea.

Current frontrunner Moon Jae-in of the Democratic Party, believed to favor a softer line on North Korea, has said that he would review the decision to allow the THAAD placement in Seongju.

However, Moon said in a debate Thursday that “If North Korea carries out a sixth nuclear test, cross-border dialogue will be impossible for a time, and given the single, five-year term (of a president), it will effectively be difficult to improve inter-Korean ties under the next administration.”

China has vehemently opposed having the THAAD system in South Korea since negotiations on its placement began in February 2016.

On Wednesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang renewed Beijing’s “grave concerns” that THAAD could upset the balance of power in the region.

THAAD “will break the strategic balance in the region and further escalate the tensions on the Korean peninsula,” Geng said. “It does no good to the goal of denuclearization of the peninsula and regional peace and stability, and runs counter to the efforts of various parties to resolve the issue through dialogue and consultation,” Geng said.

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Jura said:

Wednesday at 8:01 AM
now US Pressing for Quick Activation of THAAD in South Korea

source is DefenseTech

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President Donald Trump rattled the caretaker government of South Korea on Friday with a demand that Seoul pay the U.S. as much as $1 billion for setting up the THAAD missile defense system to guard against the North Korean threat.

In a Reuters interview, Trump said of THAAD that "It's a billion dollar system. It's phenomenal. It's the most incredible equipment you've ever seen -- shoots missiles right out of the sky."

"And it protects them (the South Koreans) and I want to protect them," Trump said of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense System. "We're going to protect them. But they should pay for that, and they understand that."

"On the THAAD system, it's about a billion dollars," Trump said. He said he told his aides "Why are we paying? Why are we paying a billion dollars? We're protecting. Why are we paying a billion dollars? So I informed South Korea it would be appropriate if they paid."

South Korea did not think it was appropriate that they should pay for a system that guards against a mutual threat to the U.S. and South Korea. South Korea's Defense Ministry said the

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with the U.S. military was that the U.S. would deploy and operate the system while South Korea provided the land and infrastructure.

"The official position remains unchanged that our government provides the land and other infrastructure while the U.S. covers the burden of cost of deploying and maintaining the THAAD system according to the regulations of the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA)," the Ministry said in statement.

The THAAD deployment has become an issue in the election campaign to replace President Park Gyun-hye, who was

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after being impeached for corruption by Parliament in December.

The front-runner to succeed Park, Moon Jae-in of the Democratic Party, has said that Park's government was wrong to accept the THAAD deployment.

Adm. Harry Harris, commander of U.S. Pacific Command, told the House Armed Services Committee Wednesday that the

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," suggesting that the U.S. wanted the system up and running before the May 9 elections in South Korea.

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S. Korea to build new amphibious landing ship

South Korea said Friday it has begun the construction of another large-scale amphibious landing ship to be used by the country's Navy.

A keel-laying ceremony for the 14,500-ton vessel was held the day at the shipyard of Hanjin Heavy Industries & Construction Co. in Busan, according to the state arms procurement agency.

The ship, 199.4 meters long and 31 meters wide, is scheduled to be launched in April next year. It will be delivered to the Navy in 2020 after a trial operation, said the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA).

It will be equipped with an improved self-defense system including a vertical rocket launcher worth 417.5 billion won (US$367 million) under the 2014 contract between DAPA and Hanjin.

In a separate statement, the Navy said the new ship has not been christened yet.

"Its name has not been decided yet. It will be given a name three months before the launching ceremony," it said.
It would mark the first time for the country to build such a major transport ship for its military in a decade.

The Navy has a Dokdo-class amphibious assault ship, named LP-X Dokdo, in operation.

It's often called a "light aircraft carrier" for its capability to transport helicopters, armored vehicles, trucks, artillery, high-speed ships and other equipment as well as hundreds of troops at a time.

The multi-functional vessel, one of Asia's largest amphibious landing ships, can be used for peacekeeping operations and disaster relief as well.

"The first Dokdo-class ship is the valuable fruit of South Korea's resolve for self-defense and the world's top shipbuilding technology," Moon Ki-jeong, a senior DAPA official, said.

He added the DAPA will do its best for the success of the second Dokdo-class ship project.

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Jura said:

Yesterday at 8:33 PM
while Trump Wants South Korea to Pay for THAAD

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WALLACE: President Trump, changing just a little bit, but same region, said this week that South Korea should pay for the missile defense system that we have installed there, the THAAD system, $1 billion. There is a report today that you called your South Korean counterpart and said, no, the old agreement was that we the United States pay that billion dollars and we’re going to stick by that.

Is that true?

MCMASTER: Well, the last thing I would ever do is contradict the president of the United States, you know? But -- and that's not what it was. In fact, what I told our South Korean counterpart is until any renegotiation that the deal is in place. We’ll adhere to our word.

But what the president has asked us to do is to look across all of our alliances and to have appropriate burden-sharing, responsibility-sharing. We are looking at that with a great ally, South Korea. We’re looking at that with NATO.

And what you’ve seen because of the president's leadership, more and more nations are contributing more to our collective defense.

WALLACE: So, the question of who pays the billion dollars is still up in the air?

MCMASTER: The question of what is the relationship on THAAD, on our defense relationship going forward, will be renegotiated as it’s going to be with all of our allies. Because what the president has said is, he will prioritize American citizens' security and interests. And to do that, we need strong alliances. But also to do that effectively, and a way that is sustainable economically, we need everybody to pay their fair share.

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Jura said:

anybody watching this?

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While the world’s focus is trained like a laser on the danger of North Korea’s nuclear weapons program, the commander of US Pacific Command says Pyongyang’s conventional forces also pose a serious threat. Adm. Harry Harris told Congress this week the US does not currently have an answer for the artillery forces North Korea has deployed near the demilitarized zone (DMZ) within striking distance of Seoul, the capital of the Republic of Korea. “We do not have those kinds of weapons” to counter such an attack, Harris told the Senate Armed Services Committee Thursday. In testimony before the House Armed Services Committee Wednesday, Harris described the “very dramatic challenges” associated with defending Seoul and its “25 million people in a relatively small area within artillery range of the DMZ.” He said that North Korean premier Kim Jong Un has “a vast array of rocket forces and artillery” located on “the heights north of the DMZ.” He confirmed that the recently deployed THAAD system “is not designed to counter those kind of basic weapons,” and that the US still needs to “develop that capability” to do so.

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Jura said:

...

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FORBIN said:

Marado maybe ?

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Jura said:

here's the most recent:
comes from
a rush transcript from "Fox News Sunday," April 30, 2017

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I watched a part of the footage at
McMaster backpedals on South Korea

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thanks to those who indicated they're (if this thread had been abandoned, I would've just kept what I read/watched to myself

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The anger is palpable on a narrow road that cuts through a South Korean village where about 170 people live between green hills dotted with cottages and melon fields. It's an unlikely trouble spot in the world's last Cold War standoff.

Aging farmers in this corner of Seongju county, more than 200 kilometers (125 miles) south of the capital Seoul, spend the day sitting by the asphalt in tents or on plastic stools, watching vehicles coming and going from a former golf course where military workers are setting up an advanced U.S. missile-defense system.

"Just suddenly one day, Seongju has become the frontline," said a tearful Park Soo-gyu, a 54-year-old strawberry farmer. "Wars today aren't just fought with guns. Missiles will be flying and where would they aim first? Right here, where the THAAD radar is."

THAAD is shorthand for Terminal High Altitude Defense, which the South Korean and U.S. governments say is critical to cope with a growing missile threat from North Korea. When completed, the battery will consist of six truck-mounted launchers that can fire up to 48 interceptors at incoming missiles detected by the system's x-band radar.

Anger has boiled over in Seosongri village since last week when U.S. and South Korean military workers used the early-morning hours to rush key parts of THAAD into place. The system had been scheduled to enter operation by the end of the year, but South Korea's Defense Ministry said Tuesday that it is already capable of defending against North Korean missiles. The ministry didn't say when the deployment would be completed.

Hundreds of banners hang on trees and fences along a kilometer (half-mile) stretch of the road up to where police have cut off access. They say "Withdraw the illegal THAAD immediately" and "Stop US militarism," slogans that would feel familiar in a leftist rally but are unusual in the country's traditionally conservative southeast.

"Yankee, go home!" a man yelled as he banged his fist on a car apparently carrying American soldiers, before dozens of police officers peeled him and other protesters away from the vehicle.

The local anger highlights what has arguably become the most explosive issue ahead of a presidential election next week. The May 9 vote will likely end a decadelong conservative rule that maintained a hard line against North Korea and agreed to the THAAD installation.

Front-runner Moon Jae-in, who calls for engagement with the North, has said the deployment of THAAD should be reconsidered. Some media have questioned whether the United States and a caretaker government that took over for ousted former President Park Geun-hye are rushing to complete THAAD before the election.

Earlier polls had showed overwhelming public support for THAAD following North Korean nuclear tests and a long-range rocket launch last year. But public opinion has become more divided amid the corruption scandal that led to Park's downfall and criticism that the government was pushing ahead without seeking the consent of Seongju residents.

Opposition was further inflamed after President Donald Trump said he would make South Korea pay $1 billion for THAAD.

Seongju residents say comments by Trump show the United States may be preparing for a pre-emptive strike against North Korea. They worry that if the North retaliates, THAAD would make their county a main target.

There's also frustration about an increasingly heavy police and military presence in an area where outsiders had been mostly limited to small groups of weekend golfers. Residents are also concerned about the rumored harmful effects the electromagnetic waves from THAAD's radar might have on them and their crops. Seoul's Defense Ministry calls such worries groundless.

"We have been living very peacefully as farmers, but our daily lives have been shattered after the arrival of this weapon; we can't rest comfortably for a day and can't work without worrying," said Kim Yoon--seong, a 60-year-old melon farmer. He says many younger residents with children are considering leaving Seongju.

Residents say at least 13 people were treated at hospitals for injuries including broken bones and teeth after a violent clash last week between dozens of villagers and supporters and some 8,000 police officers who were mobilized to remove them from the road.

Three days later, more than a hundred police officers ended an hourslong standoff by swarming a handful of people who had been blocking a mountain path with a tractor to prevent construction equipment from entering the THAAD site. Police detained a man and drove away the tractor as villagers showered them with insults, including "dogs" and "Americans' slaves."

"We won't allow any U.S. military and construction vehicles to pass through the two roads," said Rev. Kang Hyun-wook, a minister of Won Buddhism, an indigenous form of the religion. The grounds include a site Won Buddhists consider as sacred and are no longer allowed to visit. "If they fly in (the THAAD parts) with helicopters, then fine, it's their money to spend and we can't do anything about that."

Several people were hurt in another clash on Sunday as police tried to remove protesters blocking two U.S. military oil trucks from entering the THAAD site. Residents said the trucks turned away because cars protesters had parked to block the road couldn't be towed.

Moon, the presidential front-runner, says THAAD's security benefits would be offset by deteriorating relations with China, which sees THAAD's powerful radar as a threat to its own defense. South Korea's largest trade partner, China has taken several recent actions such as limiting tour group visits to South Korea that are seen as retaliation.

Other major presidential candidates have supported THAAD, but their stances grew complicated after Trump said he would make South Korea pay for it. Ahn Cheol-soo, the No. 2 candidate in polls, says he would seek parliamentary ratification over the THAAD deployment if the United States demands such payment.

The Trump administration has backed off the demand, but not before it frayed nerves.

"How can he smack an ally in the back of the head when he very well knows the difficulties South Korea is going through over the THAAD deployment," the Maeil Business newspaper said in an editorial Saturday. "The reason South Korea decided to deploy THAAD despite strong opposition from China is because it considered the importance of the U.S.-South Korea alliance in addition to realistic needs to defend North Korean missile attacks ... What does Trump think the U.S.-South Korea alliance is about, anyway?"

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MIM-104C Patriot PAC-2 battery guarding the airspace above Seoul

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Jura said:

now I read in Russian Internet

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the contract for two more

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had been signed
(the cost of the first two reportedly (can't locate Jane's link now) was $587m which, considering the strong armament, would be a great value for the price)

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Rolls-Royce announced it has won a contract to supply MT30 marine gas turbines to power the next three ships in the Republic of Korea Navy’s Daegu-class frigate program.

Eight Daegu-class frigates (also known as FFX II) are scheduled to be built. The first ship being built by Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME) was launched at DSME’s Okpo shipyard in June 2016.

The second ship will also be built by DSME while ships three and four will be built by Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) SNSD.

The MT30 gas turbines for ships two and three are due to be delivered in the second half of 2018 and for ship four very early in 2019, Rolls-Royce said

FFX II frigates displace 2800 tonnes, measure 122 meters in length and can reach speeds of 30 knots, according to DSME. They will be equipped with a 16-cell Korean vertical launching system for defense against air threats and six torpedo tubes for anti-submarine warfare.

The frigates are intended for a variety of missions including anti-submarine warfare, anti-air warfare, patrol, surveillance, search and rescue, protection of EEZ, and transport.

“Our continued supply to this programme validates our on-going relationship with DSME and HHI. The Daegu class is an exciting programme. It is the world’s first frigate to use a single MT30 in the compact package and our first application for MT30 outside the UK and US markets,” Don Roussinos, Rolls-Royce, President – Naval, said. “The MT30 gas turbine has been successfully installed in ship one and is currently successfully supporting the commissioning of ROK Daegu’s propulsion system. We understand that MT30 has powered the ship to meet its full speed requirement.”

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