Tag: USFK

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. 

Yonhap

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.”

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

The U.S. Secretary of Defense also known as the Secretary of War will be visiting Korea and Japan next week:

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will visit the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas and meet with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung during his visit to the Asian country next week, a senior U.S. defense official said Tuesday.

Hegseth is set to kick off a two-day visit to South Korea next Monday in his first trip to the Asian country since taking office early this year. Korea is the last leg of his Asia swing that includes stops in Japan, Malaysia and Vietnam.

Upon arrival in Korea, the secretary, along with Seoul’s Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back, plans to visit the Joint Security Area inside the DMZ and have a chance to meet Korean and American troops stationed at the DMZ, the official said during a briefing to the press traveling with Hegseth.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Fortunately no one in the helicopter or on the ground were injured due to this emergency landing caused by a maintenance fault:

A U.S. Army helicopter made a precautionary landing approximately 110 miles from its home base in South Korea after detecting a potential mechanical issue, according to the 2nd Infantry Division. Two AH-64 Apache pilots based at Humphreys were on a routine training flight near Kunsan Air Base on Monday when they detected an apparent problem with the aircraft, the command said in a news release that day. The unarmed Apache landed near Buan city at 12:10 p.m. out of an abundance of caution, 2nd ID spokesman Maj. Steven Modugno told Stars and Stripes by email the next day.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

It looks like Eighth Army may finally get a long term commander:

The former commander of the Alaska-based 11th Airborne Division has been nominated by President Donald Trump to lead U.S. ground operations in South Korea. Maj. Gen. Joseph Hilbert was nominated Friday to promotion to lieutenant general and assignment as commander of the Eighth Army, according to a Pentagon news release Friday. The post requires Senate confirmation. Hilbert now serves as the special assistant to the commander of U.S. Army Pacific out of Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska.

Stars and Stripes

You can read more at the link.

I don’t think anyone expected Trump to say this during his summit with Korean President Lee:

U.S. President Donald Trump caused a stir during his first summit with President Lee Jae Myung on Monday by suggesting that Washington could seek ownership of land used for American bases in Korea. This remark, made at the White House, marked a sharp break from the agreement that has long governed the U.S. military on the peninsula for decades.

When asked whether he would consider reducing the number of U.S. troops stationed in South Korea, Trump declined to provide a direct answer. 

“Well, I don’t want to say that now, because we’ve been friends and we’re friends,” he told reporters. He then moved on to the issue of bases, adding, “They would say, ‘but we gave you land.’ I said, ‘no, you didn’t. You lease us land.’ There’s a big difference between giving and leasing. Maybe one of the things I’d like to do is ask them to give us ownership of the land where we have the big fort.”

Korea Times

You can read more at the link, but the way it works right now is that after the U.S. military closes a base in South Korea the land is given back to the government as is. This seems to be a negotiating tactic by Trump to try and get a better cost sharing deal with South Korea.

Does anyone really believe heat is what caused the downsize of UFS or the Lee administration trying to play nice with North Korea?:

South Korea and the United States began their annual large-scale military exercise Monday, with all eyes on whether North Korea will respond with warnings or provocations.

The Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise, which aims to strengthen combined defense readiness against potential threats, particularly from North Korea, will be carried out for 11 days and concludes on Aug. 28.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff said this year’s exercise would be held on a scale similar to last year’s, with about 18,000 South Korean troops taking part. The level of US participation is expected to be similar, though neither the JCS nor US Forces Korea disclosed an exact figure of the US troops.

Throughout the 11 days, troops will participate in both live and computer-simulated command post exercises and field training exercises (FTX). However, of the roughly 40 FTXs planned for this year, about half, or 20, have been postponed until September.

The JCS cited extreme heat, the need to ensure training safety and efforts to maintain a balanced combined defense posture throughout the year as reasons behind the postponement.

However, observers believe the postponement of some exercises is aligned with the Lee Jae Myung administration’s gestures for an inter-Korean thaw. The decision was made after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s influential sister Kim Yo-jong criticized the exercises, saying they have “no interest” in reviving talks with Seoul, in a statement carried by Pyongyang’s state media in July.

Korea Herald

You can read more at the link, but the Kim regime was not impressed by the downsized UFS.