It looks like in the near future Korea could be seeing some more rotational forces if the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff has his way:

The military needs to move away from units being permanently based overseas and focus more on rotational deployments, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said Thursday.

“I am not a fan of large, permanent military bases from the U.S. overseas in other people’s countries. I think that is something that needs a hard, hard look,” Army Gen. Mark Milley said during a defense forum in Washington, D.C., hosted by the U.S. Naval Institute. (………….)

Milley acknowledged there’s “no enthusiasm” for suggesting rotational forces over permanent overseas assignments, as many service members enjoy the overseas assignments with their families. Some countries also like having the permanent presence, he said, but those accompanying assignments bring risk. The amount of families living in South Korea with the threat of North Korea nearby has been a security challenge for decades, Milley said.

“If something were to happen, then we would have a significant amount of noncombatant, U.S. military dependents in harm’s way. I have a problem with that. I don’t have a problem with us, those of us in uniform, be in harm’s way. This is what we get paid for, this is what our job is,” said Milley.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link, but General Milley is right about the logistical issue of trying to evacuate families from Korea if a contingency was to occur. However, this has been a problem for decades and military leadership has decided to increase the amount of families in South Korea. We have all heard the tagline that USFK is the “Assignment of Choice” to encourage service members and their families to volunteer to come to Korea. What is the point of pulling out families if a few years down the road new military leadership decides to change things again?

I think the Korean government is not going to like this idea either. Having U.S. military families on the peninsula constrains what U.S. government leaders can do in response to North Korea provocations. Despite all of North Korea’s provocations that have killed many Korean and American military and civilian personnel over the decades, there has never been a punitive strike launched against the Kim regime. The location of Seoul near the DMZ is part of the constraint on decision making, but undoubtedly trying to evacuate USFK family members is another constraint as well.

Maybe allowing more rotational forces is a bargaining chip the Moon administration can use to get the Biden administration to agree to a peace treaty to advances it confederation policy?

Please leave anything you want to discuss in the comments section.

The prior USFK commander General Vincent Brooks was also the U.S. Army Pacific Commander before taking over USFK:

U.S. Army Pacific Commander Gen. Paul LaCamera has been nominated to be the next commander of the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK), sources said Friday.

If confirmed, LaCamera will succeed Gen. Robert Abrams to lead the 28,500 American troops based in South Korea, as well as to take the helm of the U.N. Command and the South Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command. Abrams took office in November 2018.

The nomination is part of a routine reshuffle, though no official term of office is set for a USFK commander, the sources said, adding that LaCamera is expected to face a parliamentary hearing in around February or March.

LaCamera has been in command of the U.S. Army Pacific (USARPAC) since November last year, which is the land forces component of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command and encompasses such locations as South Korea, Japan, Hawaii and Guam.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

President Moon and his Democrat Party keeps dropping in the approval ratings, but the Korean conservatives have yet to offer someone as their counter to him to capitalize on his unpopularity:

President Moon Jae-in’s job approval rating has fallen to a record low of 37.4 percent, a poll showed Thursday, with a rift between the justice minister and the top prosecutor deepening and housing prices in major areas continuing to rise.

Public approval for the ruling Democratic Party (DP) also dropped to 28.9 percent, the lowest since the launch of the Moon administration in May 2017, while that of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) rose to 31.2 percent, according to Realmeter.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

Americans bringing dollars to Korea are getting a worse exchange rate:

Korea’s currency hit a 30-month high against the U.S. dollar Thursday as investors’ interest in safe-haven assets dwindled and expectations rose for vaccine development and further fiscal stimulus in the United States.  
   
Korea’s won closed at 1,097 won against the greenback Thursday, going below the 1,100-won level for the first time in two and a half years. The currency appreciated by 3.8 won, or 0.34 percent, against the U.S. dollar compared to the previous trading day.  
   
The exchange rate went to as low as 1,096.2 won Thursday. 

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link.

For a Buddhist monk that preaches piety he sure is living quite the lifestyle:

A popular Buddhist monk, who has faced public criticism over his lifestyle that appears to contradict his preaching of non-possession, belatedly apologized Thursday over another controversy over an apartment in New York believed to be owned by him. 

Ven. Haemin, also an author and teacher, has recently faced widespread criticism over his posh private home in central Seoul, and a subsequent news report claimed that he made gains by selling a building to a Buddhist organization allegedly run by him in the past.

Further allegations arose earlier this week that he had purchased an apartment complex in Brooklyn, New York, together with a foreign national in May 2011, for the price of US$610,000.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but he is of course sorry about all this now that he has been caught.