USFK Commander urges broader mission to deter China

The role of U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) should extend beyond deterring North Korea to countering broader regional threats, General Xavier Brunson, commander of USFK, said on May 15 (local time). Speaking at the Land Forces Pacific (LANPAC) Symposium hosted by the Association of the United States Army in Honolulu, Brunson emphasized the strategic necessity of a continued U.S. ground presence on the Korean Peninsula amid growing concerns over China, Russia, and North Korea.

“The mission of USFK is not solely focused on North Korea,” Brunson said, calling South Korea’s geographic location “an island or a fixed aircraft carrier floating between Japan and mainland China.” He underscored the importance of maintaining forward-deployed ground forces to respond to multiple regional threats.

His remarks reflect a rare public acknowledgment by a sitting USFK commander of the need for greater strategic flexibility and an expanded role for American forces in Korea. The comments align with Washington’s increasing focus on the Indo-Pacific as a central theater in long-term strategic competition with China.

Brunson noted that Korea’s location helps the U.S. military overcome the “tyranny of distance” — a major challenge in projecting power across the vast Indo-Pacific region. He said USFK plays a critical role in shaping the strategic calculus of adversaries in Pyongyang, Beijing and Moscow, while offering U.S. leaders more operational options in a crisis.

The general also praised South Korea’s defense industry, citing Hanwha Ocean’s recent overhaul of a U.S. Navy logistics ship. He said South Korea’s shipbuilding and maintenance capabilities are increasingly valuable to U.S. operations in the region.

Brunson emphasized the need to institutionalize joint training among South Korea, the United States, and Japan. “U.S.-ROK-Japan cooperation should be routine, and any barriers to that must be removed,” he said. "Washington seeks to conduct joint drills with as many allied partners as possible on the Korean Peninsula."

Brunson’s comments echo a broader trend among current and former U.S. defense officials advocating an expanded mission for USFK as part of efforts to counter China’s military rise. At a May 13 seminar hosted by the Institute for Indo-Pacific Security in Washington, Randall Schriver, former Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs under the Trump administration, predicted that a second Trump term would pursue greater operational flexibility for forces in Korea to compete with China.

Ely Ratner, who served in the same role under the Biden administration, said South Korea must look beyond North Korea and engage more actively in “mini-lateral” regional efforts.

The Washington Post recently reported that the Pentagon’s new interim defense guidance prioritizes preparations for a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan and calls for a global repositioning of U.S. forces to support that strategy.


김윤진 기자 kyj@donga.com