Here is what one man said he saw happening at a closed USFK base in the Western Corridor:

A dump truck pulled into view ahead, coming up from the back gate down to the front gate, both of which had been left wide open. Maybe it was just taking a shortcut?

As I followed it down, a few minutes later I heard another truck behind me. I jumped into the brush again. But this truck stopped at a corner, engine idling. I heard what sounded like someone dumping out fluids from containers onto the ground.

Finally, after at least 10 minutes, a door slammed and the truck pulled out. I hugged the brush as the truck trundled past me on its way downhill.

Once it was out of sight, I hiked up to where it had parked, but couldn’t find any trace of whatever was dumped out. So I escaped before a third truck could come.

Heading downhill, the front gate was still wide open and several dump trucks were parked in front.

Months earlier, the Seoul City Government tested the soil and groundwater around six USFK sites in the city, searching for signs of contamination by U.S. forces. One site was the Eighth U.S. Army Religious Retreat compound, which would’ve been used for weddings, not storing Agent Orange or formaldehyde.

The contamination tests in Seoul didn’t reveal anything too scandalous, but even if they had, I’d remember that U.S. base that once stood proudly between Seoul and North Korea, turned into a toxic waste dump.  [Korea Times via a reader tip]

You can read more at the link, but local nationals illegally dumping is something I have seen plenty of times before in Korea from mechanics dumping oil into storm drains and septic trucks pumping their waste directly into a stream.

Here are some details about the Max Thunder exercise that North Korea is complaining about:

Max Thunder, which North Korea claims is the cause of its decision to cancel high-level talks with the South, is a joint military drill between the Air Forces of South Korea and the United States.

It has been held every May since 2009, with this year’s drill starting May 11 and continuing for two weeks.

The drills include annual defensive exercises with mock combat, and the number of fighter jets and troops this year is similar to those in years past, with some 100 aircraft from both countries participating, according to the Korean Air Force.

This year, eight of the U.S.’s F-22 Raptor stealth fighters were deployed for the drills for the first time. It is said the Raptor fighters can penetrate North Korea’s radar fence and make surgical strikes against strategic facilities.

But unlike the initial plan, B-52 strategic bombers, one of the U.S.’s strategic assets, will not be deployed, amid ongoing talks about North Korea’s denuclearization. Pyongyang has been sensitive about the bomber which can carry nuclear weapons.  [Korea Times]

You can read more at the link, but this is a fairly low level exercise compared to the Key Resolve and UFG exercises. Plus as the article states this low level exercise was even further downgraded by not including the B-52’s.  So it is pretty clear to me that it is just being used as an excuse by the Kim regime to send a message to the Trump administration to reign in officials bringing up suggestions to discuss forbidden topics such as human rights at the upcoming June 12th summit.

As I have been saying for some time, if a peace treaty is agreed to with North Korea, the South Korean left will then challenge the relevancy of the US-ROK alliance:

Two progressive civic groups on Sunday called for a review of the character of U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) in line with the two Koreas’ efforts for reconciliation and peace on the Korean Peninsula.

The ,  and Minbyun-Lawyers for a Democratic Society issued the call, with Seoul and Washington set to hold a third round of negotiations this week on sharing the cost for the upkeep of 28,500 American troops in the South.

“As (the two Koreas) are in the process of implementing the Panmunjom Declaration and establishing a peace regime, the character and size of the USFK, and the scope of its activities should be reviewed,” the two groups said in a joint statement.  [Yonhap]

The PSPD and Minbyun are both extreme left wing pro-Pyongyang organization that have long been anti-US.  For example PSPD is one of the groups behind the ongoing THAAD protests, blamed the US for Christian missionaries kidnapped by the Taliban, was a member of the Korean Alliance Against the Korea-U.S. FTA that even had one of their own set himself on fire outside one of the FTA meetings in Seoul.  PSPD was also one of the lead organizations against the relocation of US forces to Camp Humphreys.

Minbyun on the other hand are basically Kim Jong-un’s personal lawyers in South Korea.  They have long been used to legally attack North Korean defectors, one of the groups behind the US beef riots, and have long attacked the USFK relocation plan.

ROK President Moon Jae-in has said that after a peace treaty he wants US forces to stay.

Moon, however, has said that the USFK is a matter of the Seoul-Washington alliance and that it has “nothing to do with” a peace treaty that the two Koreas agreed to pursue to formally end the 1950-53 Korean War, which ended only with a truce.

Remember though that Moon is a very skilled politician that needs to keep the Korean right at bay and public anxiety down.  If he advocated openly for a USFK withdrawal that would give the South Korean right an issue to strongly attack him with and cause much public anxiety after decades of security guarantees provided by US forces.  That is why I think it is a possibility that the Moon administration may publicly say they support USFK, but will then have their surrogates do things to make life difficult for USFK such as what Minbyun is proposing:

Regarding the allies’ talks on the cost of American troops here, the civic groups called for more transparency in spending procedures, more parliamentary oversight and a ban on the use of money for supporting the deployment of U.S. strategic assets.

Possibly the future of USFK could look a lot like the current THAAD site in Seongju.  President Moon will say all the right things that he supports USFK, just like he supposedly supports the THAAD site, but will set conditions to make it difficult for its continued existence.  Minbyun and PSPD’s current efforts could just be the start of a larger strategy to make life more difficult for USFK if a peace treaty is signed.  All the while expect the Moon administration to say how much they support USFK.

Over at One Free Korea he has an interesting posting up that I recommend everyone read where he discusses whether US Forces Korea (USFK) should be withdrawn from the peninsula:

To save Korea’s democracy, withdraw its American security blanket

Most Korea-watchers will view the recent hints from both Seoul and Washington about a U.S. withdrawal with alarm, and as a grave risk to the security of both Korea and Japan. Indeed, it’s one more development that’s consistent with my hypothesis that Pyongyang means to coerce and cajole Seoul into submission, first by lowering the South’s defenses, and later by ruling it through an inter-Korean confederation that it will use to suppress dissent, neutralize it as a political and military threat, and loot its resources without the burdens of war, occupation, or cultural pollution. The Panmunjom agreement will fuel Pyongyang’s expectations of collaboration by a government in Seoul that prioritizes ethno-nationalism and appeasement over the protection (much less the propagation) of liberal democratic values.  […….]

If the arc of Korean history bends toward capitulation, the continuing presence of American forces is less likely to bend it back than soothe into passivity those Koreans who still can. Our presence would only create a false sense of security and quell any sense of alarm that the Blue House is consenting to a quiet capitulation of the freedom and prosperity their parents and grandparents won at such a terrible cost. Maybe the U.S. presence is contributing to the clearest and most present danger to Koreans’ security by obstructing the concentration of their minds, by retarding their development of a confident sense of nationhood, and by excusing them from the grim burdens of sisu.

Can America do anything to bend that arc back? One answer might be to present Koreans with a stark choice and a referendum. So let President Trump go to his summit with His Porcine Majesty, and soon. Let him hear Kim Jong-un’s offer. Then, let him — and John Kelly, John Bolton, Jim Mattis, and Mike Pompeo — explain to us why those terms are tantamount to surrender, why Moon was a fool or worse[10] for agreeing to them, and that while South Korea is free to surrender itself, we would rather retrench ourselves in Japan than subsidize frivolous policies that undermine our own security.  [One Free Korea]

I highly recommend reading the whole thing at the link, but I have long believed that there has been peace in Northeast Asia since the end of the Korean War because of the balancing influence that the US military provides to the region.  However, that doesn’t mean we need all the troops currently in South Korea if real concessions are made by the North Koreans.

For example if the Kim regime removes the vast majority of their troops and artillery positions along the DMZ would USFK still need to have the 2nd Infantry Division forward deployed in Korea?  Would the Air Force need as many aircraft stationed there to take out those artillery positions?  That is why I think this argument needs to be influenced by real actions by North Korea not pretend ones, which is all we have seen so far from the Kim regime.

I have to wonder if the Moon administration is going to try and tie how much the ROK is willing to pay for the upkeep of USFK to the outcome of the Kim-Trump Summit?:

South Korea and the United States are expected to hold a new round of talks next week in their ongoing negotiations over the costs for U.S. troops stationed here, a source close to the matter said Monday.

According to the source, both countries are currently discussing details about schedules and location after they decided to hold the talks next week. The source added that Washington D.C. could be the venue for the meeting.

The talks are led by Chang Won-sam, a career diplomat who was appointed in mid-November to head the negotiation team, and Timothy Betts, deputy assistant secretary for plans, programs and operations at the U.S. State Department.

It will be the third round of negotiations. The two sides previously met in Honolulu, Hawaii, in March and in Seogwipo on Jeju Island last month.

The latest meeting comes after the New York Times reported that U.S. President Donald Trump ordered the Pentagon to consider reducing American troops in South Korea. Although the U.S. government denied the report, some speculated that it could be a move to put more pressure on South Korea to shoulder more of the costs.  [Yonhap]

You can read more at the link.

Is this the latest example of “fake news” the US President often derides?:

The President’s request of the Defense Department comes ahead of his highly anticipated sit-down with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, expected to take place along the demilitarized zone (DMZ) between the two Koreas.

North and South Korea recently held their own historic summit, which included an agreement on holding talks over denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula and bringing a formal conclusion to the Korean War.

If the peace talks continue among countries, it could decrease the need for a US presence in the region, officials told the newspaper.

National security adviser John Bolton on Friday disputed the Times’ report, calling it “utter nonsense.”

President Moon continues to say all the right things in his continuing effort to get President Trump to sign up for the recent charm offensive with North Korea:

South Korean President Moon Jae-in flatly dismissed the idea of U.S. troops stationed here pulling out following a formal end to the Korean War, saying the issue has nothing to do with North Korea but only with the Korea-U.S. alliance.

“U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) is a matter of the South Korea-U.S. alliance. It has nothing to do with signing a peace treaty,” the president said, according to his spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom.

In a historic summit held at the border truce village of Panmunjom on Friday, Moon and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un agreed to push for a peace treaty that would formally end the 1950-53 Korean War.

Moon’s remarks came shortly after his special adviser Moon Chung-in hinted at the possibility of a withdrawal.

“What will happen to U.S. forces in South Korea if a peace treaty is signed? It will be difficult to justify their continuing presence in South Korea after its adoption,” the former Yonsei University professor said in a contributed articled published Monday by U.S. magazine Foreign Affairs.  [Yonhap]

You can read more at the link, but here is something to consider on what could happen with USFK if a peace treaty is agreed to.  Possibly the future of USFK could look a lot like the current THAAD site in Seongju.  President Moon will say all the right things that he supports USFK, just like he supposedly supports the THAAD site, but will set conditions to make it difficult for its continued existence.  In Seongju he continues to allow the blockade of the THAAD site which has made it extremely difficult to sustain and causing the quality of life for the soldiers there to be reportedly very poor.

After a peace treaty is signed President Moon could allow his army of leftist supporters to protest and blockade US military bases to make life miserable for US servicemembers in Korea.  Servicemembers stationed in Korea back in the 2002-2004 timeframe remember how bad serving in Korea was due to the 2002 Armored Vehicle Accident and the massive protests it created.  It got so bad that US soldiers were kidnapped from the subway and forced to make coerced statements in a sports stadium, some soldiers were grabbed off the streets and beaten, and USFK bases were even fire bombed.

Remember Moon Jae-in was the Chief of Staff for the ROK President at the time, Roh Moo-hyun who allowed all the outrageous behavior to happen.  Then Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld’s threat to withdraw USFK was what eventually stopped the protests and attacks on troops.  What if President Moon this time just allows the protests and attacks to continue and the US decides on its own to withdraw?

John Kelly strongly — and successfully — dissuaded Trump in February from ordering the withdrawal of all U.S. troops from the Korean Peninsula, @NBCNews reports. This fits with accounts I heard about Trump throwing papers in the Oval, yelling about S.Koreahttps://t.co/JYqiqQHaqj pic.twitter.com/QBo6xHWu5K

— Anna Fifield (@annafifield) May 1, 2018

Background

In March of 1951 United States Forces Korea (USFK) was executing their annual Team Spirit exercise.  Team Spirit was the major joint exercise held annually with the Republic of Korea (ROK) military from 1976 to 1993.  Team Spirit ended in 1993 as part of the efforts to end the nuclear crisis with North Korea that began that year.  Team Spirit exercised the logistics of supporting US warfighting units on the peninsula and joint operations between the US and ROK militaries.

In 1981 USFK held its largest ever Team Spirit exercise up to that point that featured 27,000 US military personnel stationed in Korea and 33,000 US military personnel from outside the peninsula.  In addition to the US military personnel, over 100,000 ROK military servicemembers participated in the exercise as well.  The April 8, 1981 Stars and Stripes called that year’s Team Spirit “the largest ground field maneuver exercise in the Free World”.  This was the first Team Spirit exercise held during the Ronald Reagan administration where US and ROK ties had noticeable improved after much deterioration during the prior Carter administration.

The 1981 Team Spirit exercise featured a scenario where North Korea attacked southwest across the Han River which caused US and ROK forces to fight a delaying action southeast of the river.  After completing the delaying action, US and ROK forces would then launch a counterattack to push the North Koreans north of the Han River again.

The Deadly Accident

On March 15, 1981 soldiers from Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 31st Mechanized Infantry (C/1-31IN) from the 2nd Infantry Division stationed in South Korea found themselves participating in the counterattack portion of the exercise.  Their unit was participating in a river crossing exercise where their armored personnel carriers would cross a pontoon bridge constructed on the Namhan River outside of the city of Yeoju, 35 miles southeast of Seoul.

City of Yeoju located on the far bottom right and Seoul on the upper left.  The Namhan River can be seen flowing north from Yeouju and connecting with the Han River that flows through Seoul.

Due to the many large rivers in South Korea, river crossing exercises are an extremely important skill to master.  To this day river crossing exercises are conducted on major rivers in South Korea to include the Namhan River:

However, for the soldiers of C/1-31IN, the river crossing exercise executed during the 1981 Team Spirit exercise quickly turned deadly.  12 soldiers found themselves fighting for their lives when two armored personnel carriers fell into the frigid water when the pontoon bridge broke apart.  Eight of the soldiers were rescued, but the accident ultimately cost the lives of four USFK soldiers.  Sergeant Harry Pickins, age 26 of West Memphis, Arkansas was the first body recovered on the same day of the accident.  He was assigned to the 17th Field Artillery battalion:

Stars & Stripes newspaper, March 21, 1981

The Stars & Stripes newspaper reported five days later that the body of 18-year old, Private First Class Philip Pidgeon from Carbondale, Pennsylvania had been recovered about one mile downstream from the accident site:

Stars & Stripes newspaper, March 26, 1981

Two weeks later the Stars & Stripes then reported that the body of 21-year old Sergeant Vernon Cude was recovered from the river:

Stars & Stripes newspaper, April 12, 1981

Sergeant Cude reportedly helped others to find their life vests before the cold water and fast current washed him away.  The only other body that had not been recovered was of 22-year old Sergeant Gary Schlecht.  Much like Sergeant Cude, he attempted to help save soldiers without life vests before the swift current washed him away.  I could not find any additional articles in the Stars & Stripes archive reporting on whether Sergeant Schlecht’s body was eventually recovered.  However, the Find A Grave website does have a memorial marker for Sergeant Schlecht in Dayton, Ohio.

Stars & Stripes newspaper, April 8, 1981

River Crossing Accidents in Korea

Unfortunately this accident would not be the last deadly river crossing accident in South Korea.  The May 10th, 1985 Stars & Stripes newspaper reported that a US soldier lost his life when an armored personnel carrier fell off a pontoon bridge on the Imjim River.  In 1998 four US soldiers and a Korean Augmentee to the US Army (KATUSA) lost their lives when once again an armored personnel carrier fell off a pontoon bridge on the Imjim River.  It was this accident I remember being briefed to my unit when we conducted my first river crossing exercise on the Imjim River back in 2000.  Safety was of the up most concern during every river crossing exercise I have ever done in Korea since then and fortunately there has been no other deadly accidents since 1998.

Remembering the tragic deaths during the 1981 Team Spirit exercise serves as a reminder of the importance of safety during potentially dangerous training and making sure all efforts are made to mitigate risk.  I don’t know if everything was done to mitigate risk before this tragic accident in 1981, but leaders today owe it to the memories of those killed in tragic accidents like this to take all measures to prevent future accidents.

This South Korean farmer was lucky some US and ROK soldiers were nearby to assist him:

A team of South Korean and U.S. commandos participating in the Foal Eagle field training on Thursday provided assistance to an injured South Korean farmer south of Seoul, the allies’ command said.

The farmer in his 50s was injured and unconscious after an accident with his tractor, which turned over and caught fire, in the vicinity of Yeongcheon, North Gyeongsang Province.

“The special operations professionals provided first aid and stabilized the man, as well as extinguished the fire and ensured the area was safe,” the Combined Forces Command said.

The U.S. service members were in Korea from Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, participating in the joint Foal Eagle drill that started on April 1 for a four-week run.  [Yonhap]