Category: US-ROK Alliance

The criticism seems overblown, but this is typical Chinese behavior to intentionally overreact if they can cause tensions between the U.S. and an ally:

 South Korea has delivered its position to the United States over the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) commander’s recent controversial remarks that likened South Korea to a “dagger” in Asia, according to presidential officials Saturday.

In a recent podcast interview hosted by the U.S. Army War College, Brunson described South Korea as “the dagger in the heart of Asia,” prompting criticism from the Chinese Embassy in Seoul, which said the remarks “crossed the line.”

National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac, the defense ministry and the foreign ministry have delivered the country’s position over the remarks through respective diplomatic and security channels, according to Cheong Wa Dae.

Although a Cheong Wa Dae official declined to elaborate on the government’s position regarding Bruson’s remarks, security watchers say the message was likely that of regret. 

“(We) are aware of Commander Brunson’s recent public remarks, and there are communications between South Korea and the United States on various pending issues at various levels,” the official said.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but I would guess the ROK government’s response was something like that they know this criticism is stupid from the Chinese, but that they would appreciate it if the USFK commander could be more careful with his comments to avoid more stupid criticism in the future.

It seems Trump really loves South Korea when its companies are creating American jobs:

U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday that “I love South Korea,” despite his earlier show of displeasure over a lack of support by Seoul and other allies for the United States’ military operation against Iran.

Trump made the remarks during a press availability at the White House, soon after Seoul and Washington signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to advance shipbuilding cooperation as part of last year’s bilateral trade and investment agreement.

“I love South Korea,” he said in response to a reporter’s question about his social media post on Monday that Iran fired at a South Korean-operated cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz — a claim that Tehran has denied.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

It is all lies according to the ROK Defense Minister:

Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back on Wednesday denied recent media reports that the top commander of the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) lodged a protest over the unification minister’s public disclosure of classified U.S. information about a hidden North Korean nuclear facility. 

Speaking before lawmakers at a parliamentary session, Ahn dismissed speculation that the U.S. is scaling back its intelligence-sharing with Seoul on North Korea in protest of the alleged leak. 

“That is not true at all,” Ahn said, responding to a question by Rep. Yoon Sang-hyun of the People Power Party. “It would be inappropriate in light of South Korea-U.S. military diplomacy for the USFK commander to have lodged protest with South Korea’s defense minister.”

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but is anyone buying his claims?

Like many countries it appears Korea is trying to hedge between the U.S. and China instead of choosing sides:

The United States is ramping up pressure on Korea to stop using Chinese technologies and remove regulations deemed unfavorable to American companies, with a senior U.S. official saying Tuesday that Seoul has to make a choice in the face of adversaries undermining the alliance. 

In a prerecorded video at the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea’s (AMCHAM) annual Doing Business in Korea seminar in Seoul, Michael DeSombre, assistant secretary for East Asian and Pacific affairs at the U.S. Department of State, warned of China’s moves to drive a wedge between Korea and the U.S., calling the world’s second-largest economy “a regional adversary.”

“The Republic of Korea has a choice to make,” he said. “I am confident it will continue to choose trusted partners, transparent systems and technologies that respect privacy, security and the rule of law.”

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

The fall out from Chung Dong-young’s intelligence leak continues:

The commander of the U.S. military stationed in South Korea, Gen. Xavier Brunson, has lodged a protest against the unification minister’s recent remarks that allegedly leaked classified U.S. information about North Korea’s nuclear facility, a lawmaker said Tuesday.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but the ROK government appears to be in sweep it under the carpet mode right now on this issue.

This was a major misstep by Chung:

Unification Minister Chung Dong-young said Monday his referring to North Korea’s Kusong region as one of the sites hosting the country’s nuclear facilities was intended to explain South Korea’s North Korea policy, expressing regret over allegations that the remarks constituted an information leak. (……)

“I only (referred to Kusong) as part of a policy explanation meant to illustrate the seriousness of North Korea’s nuclear issue. Framing it as an information leak is very regrettable,” Chung told reporters.

The United States has reportedly complained about Chung’s disclosure of the information, which it believes was based on intelligence shared by Washington, and has ceased sharing satellite information on North Korea with Seoul.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link, but Chung claims his statement was based off of open source intelligence and not imagery from the U.S.

The way President Lee hasn’t tried to enflame anti-Japanese sentiment has been mildly surprising to me. His liberal predecessor President Moon was notorious for stoking anti-Japanese sentiment and preventing trilateral military cooperation. It is good to see President Lee has not followed suit on this so far:

Top naval commanders of South Korea, the United States and Japan gathered in Seoul on Wednesday to hold a series of talks aimed at strengthening their trilateral maritime security cooperation, the South’s Navy said.

The gathering brought together Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Kim Kyung-ryul, U.S. Pacific Fleet Commander Adm. Stephen Koehler and Adm. Akira Saito, chief of staff of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, for bilateral talks and a trilateral dinner meeting, according to the armed service.

The meetings came amid heightened tensions in the Middle East, raising speculation over whether their talks would address the ongoing U.S. blockade of Iranian ports.

In the trilateral meeting, the three sides shared their perspectives on the regional maritime security environment in the Pacific and discussed ways to enhance cooperation. 

They also reportedly discussed ways to cooperate against North Korea’s efforts to strengthen its maritime prowess, as seen in the recent development of a 5,000-ton destroyer, Choe Hyon, and the test-firing of strategic cruise and anti-warship missiles from the naval destroyer.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

My guess is that the Lee administration will probably not have the ROK military do combined field training with the U.S. this year in an effort to appease North Korea. I guess we will see what happens:

The militaries of South Korea and the United States said Wednesday they will stage their annual joint springtime exercise next month to strengthen their combined defense posture, but they have yet to agree on details of related field training in a rare move.

The Freedom Shield (FS) exercise is scheduled to take place from March 9-19, involving the field training exercise dubbed “Warrior Shield,” according to the South’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) and the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK).

The allies’ militaries said the upcoming drills will help further strengthen the alliance’s readiness and capabilities through combined, joint, all-domain operations.

“This exercise will also serve as an opportunity to support ongoing preparations for a condition-based wartime operational transition, consistent with alliance agreement,” they said in a joint statement.

South Korea is seeking to achieve the “conditions-based” handover of wartime operational control (OPCON) from the U.S. within President Lee Jae Myung’s five-year term that ends in 2030.

A JCS official explained some 18,000 troops are expected to take part in this year’s FS exercise, a level on par with around 19,000 personnel last year.

But in a rare move, the allies announced the FS exercise plan without reaching an agreement over the scope of field training exercises that will be simultaneously carried out, only saying that they are still in consultation over Warrior Shield.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.