Gen. Xavier Brunson, commander of U.S. Forces Korea, has expressed “regret” to South Korean Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back that he was not briefed on the recent U.S. Air Force drills over the Yellow Sea on time, the USFK said on Feb. 24, reported the Korea Herald. In a statement to the press, the USFK said the commander had spoken directly with Ahn, to reiterate that “notification had been provided to the Republic of Korea side,” and expressed regret that the defense minister and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff “were not briefed in time.”
“U.S. Forces Korea conducts regular training to maintain the highest level of readiness and ensure it can fulfill its mission,” it said in the statement, adding, “We don’t make apologies for maintaining readiness.” The USFK commander also spoke with Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Jin Yong-sung and shared his professional assessment on matters affecting readiness, it said, without elaborating.
The USFK statement followed the Feb. 18 standoff over the Yellow Sea between U.S. and Chinese fighter jets triggered by the U.S. side, which prompted protests from South Korean defense officials. Since then, disagreements between the U.S. and South Korea have also been reported over the scope and scale of upcoming joint exercises.
The two militaries announced in a joint statement this morning that the annual springtime Freedom Shield exercise will take place over March 9-19 and will incorporate “realistic threats, including lessons learned from recent conflicts ... to further strengthen the Alliance’s readiness and capabilities through combined, joint, all-domain operations.”
“This exercise will also serve as an opportunity to support ongoing preparations for a conditions-based wartime operational transition, consistent with alliance agreement,” the statement said, reported UPI. South Korea is looking to complete the handover of wartime command from the United States before President Lee Jae Myung’s five-year term ends in 2030.
“Complex combined exercises often require additional coordination, looking at the scale and sequencing of these events,” Col. Ryan Donald, public affairs director of U.S. Forces Korea, said at a Feb. 25 press conference. “The important thing to remember is Freedom Shield and Warrior Shield (the field training portion of Freedom Shield) will go on this March as a major defensive-oriented exercise.”
Col. Jang Do-young, public affairs director of South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the press conference that field training exercises were still being coordinated. He added that March’s Freedom Shield will not include scenarios directly related to a North Korean nuclear attack, but would include training for “deterrence of nuclear threats.”
