South Korea Defense Minister An Kyu-baek Orders Special Discipline Inspection

On August 3, Defense Minister An Kyu‑baek convened an emergency meeting of senior commanders and ordered a joint special discipline inspection of all forces, to be completed before the end of the “Ulsan Freedom Shield” (UFS) exercise. The move follows recent lapses, including the army 1st Corps’ failure to load live ammunition in guard missions and a near‑miss incident where a United States drone was mistakenly identified as a North Korean UAV.

The misidentification stemmed from a communication breakdown: the U.S. side sent a text message about the flight only a day before the exercise, and Korean staff did not forward the information up the chain. In response, the 1st Corps commander Han Ki‑sung was placed on administrative leave pending investigation, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff will oversee the special inspection.