I am very curious to know what the ROK Defense Minister was protesting to the USFK Commander about?:
Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back checks the readiness of the military, in this file photo taken on Feb. 15, 2026, and provided by the Ministry of National Defense. (Yonhap)
South Korea’s defense minister has lodged a protest with the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) early this week over its brief standoff with Chinese fighter jets during a rare air exercise, military sources said Saturday.
Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back has delivered a complaint in a call with Gen. Xavier Brunson, the commander of the Combined Forces Command and the United States Forces Korea, immediately after he received a report of the incident on Wednesday, according to the sources.
Gen. Jin young-sung, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, also lodged a complaint in a call with Gen. Brunson, they added.
On Wednesday, U.S. and Chinese fighter jets engaged in a rare standoff over the Yellow Sea during a training operation of the U.S. Air Force, which involved some 10 USFK F-16 fighter jets.
The F-16 jets reportedly flew to an area between the respective air defense identifications zones of South Korea and China, prompting the Chinese military to dispatch its own fighter jets to the scene, but no clash occurred.
The USFK had notified the South Korean military of its plan ahead of the exercise but apparently did not elaborate on the details, including the purpose of the drills, officials have said.
The U.S. planes were flying in international airspace. Is there some kind of policy agreed to between the ROK and USFK that they will not fly military aircraft in international airspace in the Yellow Sea? According to this Korea Herald article the exercise near the Chinese ADIZ was unusual and could be signaling that USFK was transforming towards deterring China which is what the ROK Defense Minister may be upset about:
The deployment of a significant number of USFK Air Force assets near the Chinese ADIZ is considered unusual, prompting interpretations that the exercise may have been aimed at signaling deterrence toward China.
The drills come amid growing speculation that Washington may seek to adjust USFK’s role as it shifts focus toward countering China and encourages allies to assume greater responsibility for regional security.
It is interesting that the ROK government is this upset about an air exercise in international waters near China when the Chinese and the Russians have flown aircraft straight through the the ROK ADIZ on multiple occasions. The last time they did it was just this past December when nine Russian and Chinese aircraft violated in the ROK ADIZ to the South and East of the peninsula. Where was the ROK government’s protests to China and Russia over those incursions? Yet it is going to complain to Gen. Brunson about flying USFK aircraft in international waters?
Congratulations to Brig. Gen. Moon on her leadership appointment in the 2nd Infantry Division:
A South Korean brigadier general has become the first South Korean woman to serve as a deputy commander of the 2nd Infantry Division, the only U.S. Army division that integrates troops from another country into its ranks. Brig. Gen. Moon Han-ok assumed the post — one of three deputy commanders and the only South Korean — during a Feb. 4 ceremony at Camp Humphreys as the allies prepare for the eventual transfer of wartime operational control to Seoul.
“I believe this case will have positive influence on service women in the combat branch and bring hopeful messages to them,” Moon said in a statement provided to Stars and Stripes on Tuesday by a South Korean spokesman for the division. Before Moon, the last woman to serve as a 2nd ID deputy commander was Brig. Gen. Lori Robinson, who held that role until February 2023, when she was named commandant of cadets for the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y.
You can read more at the link.
If the ROK government had properly coordinated for the investigators to enter Osan Airbase none of these changes would have been necessary:
Osan Air Base, a key hub for South Korea-US air operations, has become the center of controversy over how sensitive personal data of Korean nationals is handled — raising concerns about consent, oversight and control over when such information is collected and retained by a foreign military authority.
According to multiple sources on Sunday, the South Korean Air Force’s Operations Command headquartered at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, is collecting full resident registration numbers of reservists mobilized for training and submitting them to the US 7th Air Force, which operates the base jointly with South Korean forces.
“In the past, reservists could enter the base under Korean military escort,” a South Korean Air Force official told The Korea Herald, speaking on condition of anonymity. “But since US forces now manage access control, identity verification standards have changed.”
“Previously, the Military Manpower Administration provided only basic information such as name, contact details, and date of birth,” the official added. “Now, US forces are requesting full resident registration numbers.”
You can read more at the link.
It has long been speculated that the Pentagon has been looking to reduce the number of U.S. troops in Korea and it appears the 5-17 Air Cav is one unit being looked at for deactivation:
A Pentagon official said Friday that no decision has been made on the fate of a U.S. Army squadron in South Korea, which was reported to have been deactivated as part of a military transformation initiative.
The remarks came after a recent Congressional Research Service (CRS) report said that the 5th Air Cavalry Squadron, 17th Cavalry Regiment (5-17 ACS) at Camp Humphreys, a key U.S. base in Pyeongtaek, some 60 kilometers south of Seoul, ceased operations on Dec. 15.
“No decision has been made and we do not comment on pre-decisional force structure matters,” the official said in response to a question from Yonhap News Agency, apparently indicating that the squadron is still active.
The CRS report on the unit’s deactivation added to speculation that U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration could seek a ground troop reduction of the 28,500-strong U.S. Forces Korea as part of an adjustment to better counter threats from an assertive China.
5-17 ACS is known to have had hundreds of personnel, as well as aviation and reconnaissance assets, including AH-64E Apache helicopters and RQ-7B Shadow drones. It has served in Korea to support the 2nd Infantry Division since May 2022.
You can read more at the link.
It looks like the US Senate is trying to prevent the Trump administration from unilaterally reducing troops in South Korea without the consent of Congress:
The US Senate has approved a sweeping annual defense policy bill that reinforces restrictions on any unilateral reduction of US Forces Korea and tightens conditions on the transfer of wartime operational control, underscoring Washington’s insistence that alliance-related changes be guided by security conditions rather than political timelines.
The upper chamber on Wednesday passed the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2026 by a 77–20 vote, one week after the bill cleared the House of Representatives. The legislation will take effect once signed by US President Donald Trump.
Under the bill, funds authorized by Congress cannot be used to reduce the current 28,500-strong US Forces Korea unless the administration certifies that such a move serves US national security interests and follows appropriate consultations with allies, including South Korea. The provision effectively prevents unilateral troop reductions while allowing limited flexibility under strict conditions.
You can read more at the link.
I understand what General Brunson is saying, but I highly doubt the Lee administration would support South Korea being a pillar for deterrence against China:
The commander of American forces in South Korea has underscored the Korean Peninsula’s central role in the U.S. security strategy in the Indo-Pacific region, according to a website of the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) on Tuesday, noting the peninsula’s location between the Asian continent and the Pacific region.
Gen. Xavier Brunson, commander of USFK, made the remarks at a lecture at the National Defense University in Washington, D.C., last Wednesday at a time when Seoul and Washington are pushing to “modernize” their alliance in a way that would increase South Korea’s role in its own defense and its contributions to addressing regional threats.
“Korea is not a side chapter in American strategy,” Brunson said, according to the website. “If you put the peninsula in the first chapter, the geometry of the region and the value of our alliances become impossible to ignore.”
Describing the Korean Peninsula as a “hinge between the Asian continent and Pacific maritime approaches,” Brunson said the peninsula “should be viewed as a central pillar of U.S. and allied strategy.”
On the Korean Peninsula, Brunson said the U.S. and allied forces are already positioned inside the first island chain, a key perimeter for America’s preeminence against China in the Pacific.
You can read more at the link.
This change in security measures at Osan Airbase shows how upset USFK leadership must have been when the Lee administration sent special prosecutors to raid the base without notifying Osan leadership in advance:
The U.S. Air Force in South Korea is set to take measures to tighten security by retaking control of access to a gate at Osan Air Base, currently shared with the South Korean military, officials said Thursday.
The move comes after the U.S. military lodged a complaint over a special counsel team’s search and seizure at the air base in Pyeongtaek, some 65 kilometers south of Seoul, in July as part of its investigation into former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s failed martial law bid.
Currently, the U.S. side controls access to two of three gates that are in use at the air base, which also stations key facilities operated by the South Korean Air Force, such as the Air Force Operations Command and the Air Force Master Control and Reporting Center.
Once the tighter security measure goes into effect next month, South Korean military personnel would need U.S.-approved defense identification cards to access the remaining gate at the air base. The South’s military now can access it with identification cards issued by the South Korean government.
The U.S. 51st Fighter Wing confirmed that base access requirements have been “updated” to ensure security.
Yonhap
You can read more at the link.
It is pretty rare for one of these drones to crash and fortunately no one on the ground was hurt:
A U.S. Air Force unit based in South Korea said Tuesday it is currently investigating the cause of the recent crash of its MQ-9 Reaper drone off the country’s west coast.
On Monday, the U.S. Air Force drone stationed at Kunsan Air Base crashed near Maldo-ri Island off the western city of Gunsan, about 180 kilometers south of Seoul, although no injuries or damage were reported.
“The incident is still under investigation,” the 8th Fighter Wing said in response to Yonhap News Agency’s inquiry about the cause of the accident. “In the meantime, we can confirm … when an incident happens, we immediately conduct thorough investigations, implement corrective actions, and ensure accountability at every level.”
You can read more at the link.
