One year and two months after last March’s Air Force friendly‑fire accident
The Defense Ministry will invite Pocheon residents who bore the sacrifice and publicly express thanks
The Defense Ministry will invite Pocheon residents who bore the sacrifice and publicly express thanks
The Defense Ministry said it will recruit public observers for the 2026 Joint Firepower Exercise through May 10. This is the first joint firepower exercise to be held since the Lee Jae‑myung administration took office.
On May 6, the ministry said observer days will be held on May 18, 21 and 26. It plans to admit about 400 people per day, for roughly 1,200 participants in total. Applicants can register via the link posted on the Defense Ministry’s official website and social‑media channels. Successful applicants will be notified individually by email on May 13–14.
The pre‑event program at the Seungjin Science Training Center in Pocheon will include a Black Eagles aerobatic demonstration and military cultural performances. The main exercise will feature live‑fire demonstrations and maneuver drills by advanced joint forces. Officials will also run equipment tours, giving visitors close‑up access to major K‑defense systems and newly fielded weaponry.
The exercise at Seungjin training ground marks the first joint live‑fire event there in about 14 months. Last March, a combined live‑fire drill tied to the 2025 Shield of Freedom exercise resulted in an accident in which two KF‑16 fighters each dropped four MK‑82 bombs—eight total—onto residential areas. Dozens of civilians and service members were injured.
As it resumes the training, the ministry said it will invite residents of Pocheon—who have endured sacrifices tied to more than 70 years of military operations—and publicly thank them. A ministry official said, “We will demonstrate the excellence of Korean defense systems in the field and continue to evolve as a people's military.”
Interested applicants can apply online at naver.me/x52ctdO9 through May 10. The application link is also posted on the Defense Ministry’s Facebook, Instagram, X and blog.
London = Jeong Se‑young We beat them once, so there's no reason we can't do it again.
South Korea’s men’s table tennis team carried that confidence into the main draw (round of 32) at the 2026 ITTF World Team Championships after its upset of China.
The squad—Jang Woo‑jin (SeAH), Ahn Jae‑hyun (Korea Exchange), Oh Jun‑seong (Korea Exchange), Im Yuno (Armed Forces Athletic Corps) and Kim Jang‑won (SeAH)—rolled past Slovakia 3–0 in the men’s round of 32 on the night of May 5 (Korean time) at OVO Arena Wembley in London.
Korea’s next opponent is Austria, which advanced by beating India. If Korea wins its round‑of‑16 match against Austria on the morning of May 7, it is likely to meet world‑leading China again in the quarterfinals.
China remains the dominant force in world table tennis. Getting past that “Great Wall” is always difficult. But the Korean men’s team has already done it: on May 3 they defeated China 3–1 in their second seeded‑league match. That was Korea’s first win over China in an international team event since the 1996 Asian Championships final in Singapore—30 years ago.
The loss was a shock for China as well. It ended China’s long unbeaten streak in world team championships that had run since the 2000 Kuala Lumpur tournament—26 years.
In London, Korea’s victory over China made headlines. The ITTF’s official website featured the result prominently, and Chinese media on site ran stories probing internal issues, signaling visible unease. After the Korea‑Slovakia match, Chinese reporters spent considerable time in the mixed zone questioning Korean players.
The Korean players looked more confident than ever. Oh Jun‑seong, who won both the second and fourth singles and played a decisive role against China, said after the round of 32, “We already beat them once, and that win gave us a lot of confidence. Wang Chuqin is an outstanding player, but we've beaten him before. We'll give it our all.”
Team ace Jang Woo‑jin added, “Chinese players may feel more pressure now, so we have a real chance. China even lost to Sweden. Table tennis is a human sport—anything can happen. Just because Wang Chuqin is world No. 1 doesn’t mean they’re unbeatable.” Ahn Jae‑hyun, Korea’s No. 3 singles pick in this tournament, said, “Liang Jingkun or Lin Shidong could be selected; we’ve beaten each of them before. I think we can play well and enjoy the match.”
The men’s team appears unlikely to lose its momentum. The memory of beating China has left them with clear confidence. South Korea’s men no longer see themselves only as challengers; they are prepared to stand before the Great Wall again believing they can win.
London = Jeong Se‑young 2026-05-06T16:37:08+0900 Jeong Se‑youngn
