USFK Commander Denies Speculation On Cutting His Troops In South Korea

JAKARTA - The United States Military Commander in South Korea (USFK) General Xavier Brunson rejected the latest report on the potential for cutting US troops stationed in South Korea on Wednesday, calling USFK 28,500 people "physical manifestation of a strong US commitment."

General Brunson's remarks came after The Wall Street Journal reported Washington was considering withdrawing about 4,500 troops, or 16 percent of command, relocating them to another location in the Indo-Pacific, including Guam, as part of an undisclosed informal policy review to US President Donald Trump.

The report comes amid speculation Washington may attract some USFKs to seek "strategic flexibility" to expand the role of the command in the face of China's growing assertiveness or potentially asking for an increase in Seoul's portion in placing American troops in the country.

"To be honest, I have four positions, and one of the positions I hold is a senior US military officer assigned to the Republic of Korea, and in that role, my job is to speak on the orders of the chairman," General Brunson said in an online answering organized by the Korean-American Institute of Studies when asked about the matter. , reported The Korea Times May 28.

"The chairman hasn't called me and told me anything else," he said, referring to the Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, General (AU) John Daniel Right.

Previously, Seoul and Washington had denied the report, with the Pentagon calling it "not true" reaffirming America remained "complete" committed to defending South Korea and strengthening the alliance. South Korea's Ministry of Defense also ruled out discussions on the matter, which it said was a matter that required bilateral consultation.

While General Brunson acknowledged "all things," including changes in power, could be a topic of discussion in "interwar years" to deal with developments in contemporary technology and operating environments, he underlined the strategic importance of USFK in the growing security landscape.

"USFK is a physical manifestation of the strong US commitment to the US-ROK joint defense agreement. This is the presence and prevention of a strategic, dynamic, and future perspective and very capable," he said, using the abbreviation of South Korea's official name, Republic of Korea.

Describes South Korea's geographic location in the region as a "craft carrier" located between the East and West Seas, as well as Japan, General Brunson stressed that this strategic presence helps curb Russia's threats in the East Sea and the threat of China in the West Sea.

"No one in the US military is on the Asian continent. I was there," said the USFK commander.

"No one other than our troops on the peninsula can gain influence from the peninsula against enemies in our territory," he added.

With such a background, the USFK Commander, who also serves as the Head of the UN Command (UNC) and the South Korea-US Joint Forces Command, highlighted the growing importance of UNC as a multinational framework.

"This multilateralism is in action. It functions, and works," explained General Brunson, noting the composition of the UNC involving 18 member states who are also members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and AUKUS.

"This is important, because if there is a conflict, we will not have time to build a team," he said.

The commander said as a way to ensure "peace through force," strategic flexibility could involve "sometimes going elsewhere" in the face of regional circumstances, citing continuing Russian and Chinese attacks on the Korean Peninsula.

"We have to move on to problematic places so we can fix them," said General Brunson.

"We have to be flexible in our planning, and we really have to be flexible in our implementation, because one good thing we have here that will allow us to show strategic flexibility is the powerful ROCK military, and it's not like anywhere else in the world."