USFK commander stresses expanded role for US troops in Korea against broader regional threats

CAMP HUMPHREYS, Pyeongtaek — U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) Commander Gen. Xavier Brunson on Friday stressed the "strategic flexibility" of his troops in response to an increasingly complex security environment in Northeast Asia, amid rising speculation that USFK's mission could expand beyond deterring North Korea. In his first press conference with local reporters since taking command in December 2024, Brunson called modernizing the South Korea-U.S. military alliance essential to keeping it "ready, relevant and able" to respond to evolving threats in the region. "What’s being asked of [South] Korea is to be stronger against the DPRK, that we might have the flexibility as we modernize our alliance so that we could go do other things," Brunson said during the hour-long briefing at the USFK headquarters Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province. DPRK stands for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, North Korea's official name. He likened the concept of strategic flexibility to redeploying a U.S. Patriot missile battery from South Korea to the Middle East. In April, the U.S. militWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times