Lieutenant General Xavier Brunson, Commander of U.S. Forces Korea (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
HONOLULU, May 16 (Korea Bizwire) — The top U.S. military commander in South Korea emphasized the continued need for American ground forces on the Korean Peninsula, citing growing strategic concerns involving China and Russia and the geographic importance of South Korea within the Indo-Pacific region.
Speaking at the LANPAC Symposium hosted by the Association of the United States Army (AUSA) in Hawaii, Lieutenant General Xavier Brunson, Commander of U.S. Forces Korea, described the U.S. presence in South Korea as a critical asset in overcoming what he called the “tyranny of distance” — the logistical challenges of operating across the vast Indo-Pacific.
“South Korea is the closest allied presence to Beijing,” Brunson said, likening the country to “an island or a fixed aircraft carrier situated between Japan and the Chinese mainland.” He argued that U.S. forces stationed there serve as both a deterrent and a flexible strategic option for top U.S. leadership in the event of conflict.
While reaffirming U.S. commitment to deterring North Korean aggression, Brunson made clear that American forces in Korea are not solely focused on Pyongyang. “We are a small part of a larger Indo-Pacific strategy, focused on regional operations, activities, and investments,” he said, underscoring the broader strategic role of U.S. troops in the region.
His remarks add weight to ongoing discussions around the “strategic flexibility” of U.S. Forces Korea — the idea that American troops in South Korea could be redeployed or expanded to address broader security threats, including a potential conflict involving Taiwan. This concept has gained renewed attention amid speculation over future U.S. policy, particularly in the event of a second Trump administration.
Brunson also highlighted South Korea’s defense industrial capabilities, praising local firm Hanwha Ocean for its recent maintenance work on a U.S. Navy logistics ship. “It looks better than when it was new,” he remarked, though a Hanwha representative later clarified the vessel was the USNS Wally Schirra, not the Cesar Chavez, as Brunson had mentioned.
This 2023 file photo shows troops taking part in the Ssangyong (double dragon) exercise, a large-scale amphibious landing exercise between South Korea and the United States. (Yonhap)
On North Korea, the general raised concerns about its deepening ties with Russia, particularly regarding potential technology transfers in exchange for military support.
“North Korea is advancing weapons programs in ways we didn’t expect — ways that would have taken years without Russian assistance,” he warned. He also expressed concern that Pyongyang may soon gain the ability to deploy nuclear weapons via existing aircraft.
Touching on trilateral defense cooperation, Brunson stressed the importance of routine U.S.-South Korea-Japan military exercises. “We should remove barriers to make trilateral cooperation the norm,” he said. “I want every partner we can bring to the Korean Peninsula to train with us.”
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
