Category: US-ROK Alliance

It looks like the Korean left is not getting their way on cancelling the upcoming US-ROK exercise:

Pentagon spokesperson John Supple nixed the possibility of postponing U.S.-Korea joint military exercises scheduled in August, after dozens of ruling Democratic Party (DP) lawmakers requested a delay.  
   
“There has been no change to the schedule of our planned training events,” Supple told Radio Free Asia on Friday. “Military readiness is a top priority of the secretary of defense. Our combined military training events are a principal method of ensuring our combined alliance readiness.”   

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link.

I am surprised this hasn’t happened before now, but congratulations to these two officers on their marriage:

South Korean army Capt. Ha Neul laughed as she recalled meeting her husband, U.S. Army Capt. Miles Gabrielson, last year.

“We have a very different memory over that,” she said during a recent interview with the newlyweds at this base 40 miles north of Seoul. “He thought I was smiling at him.”

While relationships between Americans and Koreans are not uncommon, the couple’s Feb. 20 union became the first of its kind: a marriage between active-duty officers in the U.S. and Korean armies, according to the 2nd Infantry Division.

The bond between Ha, 31, and Gabrielson, 29, both artillery officers, formed in May 2020 after the pair was tasked with one of the most mundane duties in the military: creating a PowerPoint presentation.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

It will be interesting to see if USFK gets tasked to do this or if the vaccines just get shipped to South Korea for the ROK military to do the vaccinating themselves:

The U.S. Department of Defense is working on details of how and when U.S. vaccines will be provided to South Korean troops working with U.S. Forces Korea, a Pentagon spokesman said Monday.

U.S. President Joe Biden made a surprise announcement Friday that the U.S. will help fully inoculate all 550,000 South Korean service members, who work closely with U.S. troops in South Korea on a daily basis.

“Obviously we support the president’s direction here to provide the vaccines to our ROK allies,” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said in a press briefing. ROK stands for the Republic of Korea, South Korea’s official name.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

It great to see that the Joong Ang Ilbo is sponsoring this award in honor of the late ROK General Paik Sun-yup:

Former U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis received the 8th Paik Sun-yup ROK-U.S. Alliance Award in a ceremony Tuesday in Washington for his contributions to bilateral relations and the security of the Korean Peninsula.  
   
Korean Ambassador to the United States Lee Soo-hyuk presented the award and medal to Mattis, a retired Marine Corps four-star general who served as Pentagon chief from January 2017 to January 2019, on behalf of Defense Minister Suh Wook at the U.S. Embassy in Washington.  
   
The JoongAng Ilbo is a sponsor of the award, named after the famed Korean general critical in establishing the early military ties between the allies.  
   
The Korean Defense Ministry said that Mattis was selected for the award in recognition of his stable leadership during a period of crisis on the peninsula in 2017, helping lay the foundations for the pursuit of diplomatic talks. He also helped create a blueprint for how the alliance would operate following the transition of wartime operation control (Opcon) from the United States to Korea.

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link.

To appease China and the leftists, the Moon administration is going out of its way to state that the THAAD battery is not receiving any upgrades:

The military authorities plan to move a mobile generator replacement and construction equipment and materials Wednesday onto the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) base in the central town of Seongju, which hosts the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system. 

“The transport by land has nothing to do with the THAAD battery capabilities, and we will work as safely as possible in consideration of related circumstances,” the ministry said in a statement. 

Two electricity generators were installed in 2017 when the missile shield system was introduced. One of them will be replaced with a new one, the ministry said.

A ministry official stressed that no weapons or other items that aim at upgrading or strengthening the unit are included.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

If the Biden administration did ask South Korea to join the Quad forum I think it shows how little they understand the geopolitical dynamics in the region:

South Korea’s presidential office on Sunday denied as “incorrect” a Japanese report that the United States asked Seoul to join the US-led Quad forum.

The Yomiuri Shimbun, a major Japanese daily, reported earlier in the day that US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan had strongly requested Seoul join the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue group, also known as Quad, during a meeting with his South Korean counterpart Suh Hoon early this month.

Korea Herald

You can read more at the link.

My theory has always been that the Moon administration is making the sustainment of the THAAD base challenging in hopes that the U.S. will just remove the system itself one day:

South Korea is closely discussing with the United States ways to improve living conditions for American service members stationed on the THAAD missile defense base in the country, the defense ministry said Monday.

Ministry spokesperson Boo Seung-chan made the remarks after a recent Chosun Ilbo report that said US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin strongly protested poor conditions of the base during his recent visit to Seoul, calling the neglect “unacceptable.”

“I do not confirm details of what Secretary Austin said. But there have been talks about how to ensure conditions for training of the US Forces Korea (USFK),” ministry spokesperson Boo Seung-chan told a regular briefing.

Korea Herald

You can read more at the link.

This is essentially the deal the ROK always wanted to sign with the US, but the Trump administration would not agree to:

South Korea will increase the amount if pays to support U.S. troops on the peninsula by 13.9%, the country’s Foreign Ministry said Wednesday following agreement on a six-year cost-sharing deal.

South Korea will pay $1.03 billion this year, up from $910 million in 2019, to support 28,500 U.S. service members there, according to a ministry statement.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link, but I always said this would be an easy win for the Biden administration especially when it is a deal the ROK always wanted.

These exercises have definitely been scaled down significantly, but I guess we will see if North Korea cares or not:

 South Korea and the United States will stage a major springtime combined military exercise starting this week in a scaled-back manner amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said Sunday. (………)

“South Korea and the U.S. decided to conduct the springtime combined exercise from March 8 for nine days, after comprehensively taking into consideration the COVID-19 situation, the maintenance of the combat readiness posture, the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and the establishment of peace,” the JCS said in a statement.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.