Korea

The US-ROK test case: Can visas and rules unlock American shipbuilding?

With $150 billion at stake and South Korean companies prepared to invest, focused skilled visas and clear legal guidance can help unlock US shipbuilding capacity.

Hanwha to invest $5 billion to improve infrastructure at Philadelphia shipyard

The investment will be used for the installation of two additional docks and three quays to increase capacity at Hanwha Philly, according to the announcement.

Space Force lauds ‘in-country’ subcomponents in Indo-Pacific, aiding allies ‘aggressive’ space plans

"[T]here's all kinds of excitement, both on the [Korean Peninsula] and in Japan, about what the Space Force can bring those allies," Brig. Gen. Anthony Mastalir, commander of US Space Forces — Indo-Pacific, told the Mitchell Institute today.

US clears $2.4B deal with Japan for hundreds of Tomahawk missiles, systems

The announced potential sale to Tokyo comes days after Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin met military leaders in the Indo-Pacific.

South Korea and Japan resume intel sharing agreement, but not all problems are solved

"The restoration of the bilateral GSOMIA and the desire now to expand intelligence and other types of security cooperation are made possible by President Yoon’s determination to improve relations and Japan’s growing anxiety about an assertive China," Patrick Cronin of the Hudson Institute wrote.

With indigenous carrier-capable fighter design, S. Korea seeks to rework naval plans

The push for a naval version of the jet would likely not have happened if not for a series of decisions that dates back months.

With Korean aircraft buy, Poland pushes beyond post-Soviet airframe legacy

Polish military officials envision FA-50 playing a number of roles, and carrying a number of weapons, as the air force modernizes.

White House Needs New Arms Sales Approach

President Biden has made clear in his first 100 days that he will pursue a values-based foreign policy that prioritizes democracy and human rights. This is welcome and past due. But his administration will need to lay out a new approach to US arms sales to make it happen. US arms sales are one of the […]

New International Partnerships Could Spur Hosted Payloads: Gen. Thompson

SMC is "working on innovative relationships with, believe it or not, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, and some other places you wouldn't think of as traditional spacefaring nations," says Gen. DT Thompson, Space Force vice.

Hold Joint Armed Services-Foreign Relations Defense Hearings

The best way for America to develop a consensus on what our defense and global security commitments should be is for Congress to have a lengthy series of posture hearings that delve deeply into these issues.    They could be jointly held by the Armed Services and Foreign Affairs committees from the two chambers, patterned […]

Army Multi-Domain Update: New HQs, Grey Zones, & The Art of The Unfeasible

Smart missiles to strike hard targets hundreds of miles away. Wireless links to pull data from stealth fighters and foot soldiers alike. Command posts agile enough to coordinate it all — not only in open war, but in the ambiguous “grey zone” of hacking, proxy warfare, and Twitter trolls. That’s just a few of the […]

Korean War 2.0? The Signs To Watch

After threatening to rain four missiles around Guam, North Korea’s pudgy leader, Kim Jong-un appeared to back off today. The (spoof) official North Korean News Agency issued a fabulous tweet describing it, declaring: “Esteemed General Kim Jong-Un reprieves US colony of Guam, citing concern for ocelots and sea turtles. Fate of Los Angeles remains unclear.” […]

North Korea Won’t Give Nukes Up ‘At Any Price:’ Top Korea Intel Officer

OMAHA: The deep fissures over how to solve our knottiest national security problem, North Korea’s development of nuclear weapons, were on full display here this afternoon as the government’s top expert said Kim Jong-un “does not intend to negotiate those capabilities away at any price.” Markus Garlauskas, the North Korea officer for the Director of […]

Will THAAD Deployment Roil Or Calm Troubled Pacific?

WASHINGTON: The deployment of improved US missile defenses to Korea, THAAD, comes at a time of growing disorder across the region. There is one constant in this equation but three major unknowns. The constant is the THAAD system itself, whose capabilities — almost six times the maximum range of current Patriot missile defenses and roughly five […]