https://www.scmp.com/rss/523984/feed The Republic of Korea Armed Forces is headquartered in Seoul and Gyeryong. Its primary mission is national defence and security, preserving the nation's freedom and independence. Comprising the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps, it engages in ground, maritime and aerial defence. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Wenran Jiang Wenran Jiang The dust and debris of the US-Israeli war on Iran have yet to settle, but its strategic shock waves have reached East Asia. From Tokyo to Taipei, a reassessment is under way. The conflict, intended to project American resolve, has been a brutal stress test for the US-led order – with catastrophic results for Washington’s credibility. Far from cementing its primacy, America’s misadventure has revealed a superpower that is overstretched, vulnerable and seen as an unreliable partner. This erosion... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3348665/east-asias-crisis-confidence-us-militarising-chinas-backyard?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3348665/east-asias-crisis-confidence-us-militarising-chinas-backyard?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 03 Apr 2026 12:30:09 +0000 Amber Wang Amber Wang With jets forming complex formations overhead and displays on the ground of the world’s most advanced fighters, manufacturers from the US, China, South Korea and Turkey gathered in Riyadh to pursue deals of financial and strategic weight. China exhibited model J-10CE and J-35A fighter jets at the World Defence Show, along with Wing Loong and Rainbow series drones which have been making inroads into the Middle East. Analysts noted that while Chinese drones were continuing to attract buyers,... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3343272/chinas-middle-east-arms-edge-overshadowed-turkey-and-south-korea-riyadh-show?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3343272/chinas-middle-east-arms-edge-overshadowed-turkey-and-south-korea-riyadh-show?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 12 Feb 2026 06:00:15 +0000 Seong Hyeon Choi Seong Hyeon Choi Rising tensions in the Middle East despite the fragile ceasefire agreement in Gaza are continuing to fuel demands for arms in a region where China has emerged as a major supplier. As well as supplying drones and missiles, China is looking to expand its offering into advanced weapons systems, such as fighter jets, but is facing increasing competition from a near neighbour: South Korea. While both have opportunities to expand arms exports, analysts said South Korea was relatively better positioned... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3336039/why-south-korea-poses-major-challenge-chinas-middle-east-arms-sales-drive?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3336039/why-south-korea-poses-major-challenge-chinas-middle-east-arms-sales-drive?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 11 Dec 2025 22:00:19 +0000 Seong Hyeon Choi Seong Hyeon Choi Military aircraft from China and Russia entered South Korea’s air defence zone without notification on Tuesday, prompting the deployment of fighter jets, the Korean military said. The nine aircraft appeared to be part of a joint patrol in the area, their first such exercise in more than 12 months. They did not violate Korean airspace, the country’s military command authority said. Hours later, the Chinese defence ministry said China and Russia had carried out their 10th joint strategic patrol in... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3335775/2-chinese-7-russian-jets-enter-south-korean-air-defence-zone-near-japan?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3335775/2-chinese-7-russian-jets-enter-south-korean-air-defence-zone-near-japan?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 09 Dec 2025 10:03:03 +0000 C. Uday Bhaskar C. Uday Bhaskar South Korea is set to acquire nuclear-powered attack submarines with US approval and assistance, according to a joint fact sheet last week. That approval came following a meeting at the end of October between South Korean President Lee Jae-myung and US President Donald Trump in Gyeongju. The agreement allows South Korea to build its first nuclear-powered attack submarines, which will be conventionally armed and powered by highly enriched uranium the United States will help source. It also... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3333413/south-koreas-us-nuclear-sub-deal-risks-roiling-east-asias-waters?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3333413/south-koreas-us-nuclear-sub-deal-risks-roiling-east-asias-waters?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 23 Nov 2025 01:30:14 +0000 Saher Liaqat Saher Liaqat US President Donald Trump’s recent call for the military to immediately restart nuclear weapons testing, apparently ending a 33-year moratorium that began under president George H.W. Bush in 1992, has sent shock waves across the globe. The announcement was made via social media moments before the much-anticipated meeting between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Busan, South Korea, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit, the first meeting between the... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3332360/trumps-call-restart-nuclear-tests-reckless-redefining-deterrence?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3332360/trumps-call-restart-nuclear-tests-reckless-redefining-deterrence?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 12 Nov 2025 12:30:08 +0000 Sukjoon Yoon Sukjoon Yoon For US President Donald Trump to consent to South Korea building its own nuclear-powered submarines was unexpected – though a welcome decision for the many South Korean analysts who have long argued such vessels were urgently needed by the country’s navy. It will have a huge impact on the US alliance with South Korea and its neighbours, not least North Korea, which is apparently building its first nuclear ballistic missile submarine with Russian technical support: not just any nuclear-powered... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3332056/devil-details-us-agrees-south-korean-nuclear-powered-sub?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3332056/devil-details-us-agrees-south-korean-nuclear-powered-sub?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 10 Nov 2025 21:30:08 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse A North Korean soldier was taken into custody by the South after he voluntarily crossed the heavily fortified land border separating the two Koreas on Sunday, Seoul’s military said. The soldier was seeking to “defect to the South,” a defence ministry official said. Tens of thousands of North Koreans have fled to South Korea since the peninsula was divided by war in the 1950s, with most going overland to neighbouring China first, then entering a third country such as Thailand before finally... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3329588/north-korean-soldier-crosses-dmz-defects-south-seoul?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3329588/north-korean-soldier-crosses-dmz-defects-south-seoul?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 19 Oct 2025 12:51:06 +0000 Reuters Reuters South Korea’s military has shrank by 20 per cent in the past six years to 450,000 troops, largely due to a sharp drop in the population of males of enlistment age for mandatory service in the country with the world’s lowest birth rate, according to a new report. The dramatic decline in the pool of available males for military service is also causing a shortfall in the number of officers and could result in operational difficulty if it continues, the defence ministry said in the report. The... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3321378/south-korea-military-shrinks-20-cent-6-years?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3321378/south-korea-military-shrinks-20-cent-6-years?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 10 Aug 2025 11:17:15 +0000