South Korea’s ex-leader Park makes first court appearance in corruption trial

South Korea’s former leader Park Geun-hye arrived at a Seoul court on Tuesday to stand trial on bribery charges over a corruption scandal that brought down her presidency. Park faces more than 10 years in jail if found guilty of taking bribes from business leaders, one of the key accusations that led to her impeachment, […]

North Korea says U.S. has to roll back ‘hostile policy’ before talks

North Korea’s deputy U.N. envoy said on Friday the United States needed to roll back its “hostile policy” toward the country before there could be talks as Washington raised concern that Pyongyang could be producing a chemical used in a nerve agent. “As everybody knows, the Americans have gestured (toward) dialogue,” North Korea’s deputy U.N. […]

US Navy ship collides with fishing vessel off Korean coast

According to local news reports, the USS Lake Champlain, an American Ticonderoga class guided missile cruiser out of San Diego, California, has collided with a fishing vessel off the coast the Korean peninsula. The collision has been categorized as “minor” by South Korean officials who have launched an investigation into the incident.  A parallel U.S. […]

SOFREP Editor in Chief, Jack Murphy reports from the Korean DMZ

As our vehicle made the uphill climb towards our destination, I glared through the window and spied a double chain link fence topped with barbed wire which marketed the beginning of the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea.  In the distance, I had my first look at North Korea. The two countries had been […]

Picture of the day: South Korean Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon taking off

Image of a South Korean Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon taking off from Kunsan Air Base in South Korea participating in Exercise Max Thunder 17. Exercise Max Thunder serves as an invaluable opportunity for U.S. and ROKAF forces to train together shoulder-to-shoulder and sharpen tactical skills vital to the defense and security of the Korean Peninsula,” said Lt. […]

Picture of the Day: South Korean Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon Taking Off

Image of a South Korean Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon taking off from Kunsan Air Base in South Korea participating in Exercise Max Thunder 17. “Exercise Max Thunder serves as an invaluable opportunity for U.S. and ROKAF forces to train together shoulder-to-shoulder and sharpen tactical skills vital to the defense and security of the Korean Peninsula,” said Lt. […]

THAAD declared operational as American B-1B Bombers fly along the North Korean border

North Korea accused the United States of pushing the Korean peninsula to “the brink of nuclear war,” after a pair of strategic bombers flew training drills with South Korean and Japanese air forces along the North Korean border on Monday. According to South Korean Defense Ministry spokesman Moon Sang-gyun, the joint drill conducted was intended […]

Special Forces Detachment Korea: The Det gets orphaned in Korea! (Part 8)

Read Part 7 Here As a Confucian society, one of the problems that many in the South Korean military faced was, and continues to persist, that they are not free thinkers. Their Special Forces are task organized like 12-man American Special Forces teams but their mission is more direct action than unconventional warfare. This makes […]

‘Past efforts have failed’: White House announces tough new strategy on North Korea

A joint statement from Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis, and Director of National Intelligence Dan Coates outlined the US’s new stance on North Korea on Wednesday. “Past efforts have failed to halt North Korea’s unlawful weapons programs and nuclear and ballistic missile tests,” the statement reads. “North Korea jeopardizes the […]