Download Statement – KUSAF KDVA Joint Message for Alliance Memorial Week
Yonhap – USFK chief stresses need for ‘unfettered access’ to THAAD unit in S. Korea
SEOUL, May 18 (Yonhap) — U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) Commander Gen. Paul LaCamera has called for “unfettered” access to its THAAD missile defense unit here, stressing its absence would undermine the alliance’s ability to defend South Korea.
In a written statement to the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense this week, LaCamera made the call, as access to the unit in the southern county of Seongju remains impeded by a set of obstacles, including protesters against the installation of the battery.
Since the unit was placed in Seongju in 2017, it has had the status of a “temporary installation” pending South Korea’s environmental impact assessment — another hindrance to its full-capacity operation.
“Despite significant progress in increasing access to the site over the last year, unfettered access is required to fully ensure logistical support at the site and improve the quality of life for service members stationed there,” LaCamera said.
“Limited access also slows the pace of construction projects on-site, which is critical for maintaining the system’s capabilities, crew training and upgrades. All of this hinders the alliance’s ability to operate this defensive system and defend the ROK people,” he added. ROK stands for the South’s official name, Republic of Korea.
The commander also pointed out the North’s continued push to enhance missile capabilities to put the South, the United States and Japan “at risk.”
“The DPRK continues to pursue capabilities to hold our Korean and Japanese allies at risk with short- and medium-range missiles, hold U.S. strategic bases within the region at risk with intermediate range missiles and hold at risk the U.S. with its intercontinental ballistic missile program,” he said.
DPRK stands for the North’s official name, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
Touching on the North’s launch of an “unprecedented amount of missiles” since January, LaCamera stressed, “We must assume that some of these systems are likely intended to be nuclear capable.”
This photo, provided on Nov. 5, 2021, by the South Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command (CFC), shows Commander Gen. Paul LaCamera speaking during a ceremony to mark the CFC’s 43rd anniversary at the U.S. Army’s Yongsan Garrison in Seoul on Nov. 5, 2021, in this photo provided by the command. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
sshluck@yna.co.kr
(END)
—
Article: https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20220518005200325?section=national/defense
News articles do not necessarily reflect the views of KDVA. Any copyrighted materials depicted on this web site are presented for educational purposes only and no claim of ownership is made by KDVA.
Yonhap – Yoon to virtually attend summit launching IPEF
By Lee Haye-ah
SEOUL, May 18 (Yonhap) — President Yoon Suk-yeol will virtually attend a summit in Tokyo next week where U.S. President Joe Biden will formally launch the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), a presidential official said Wednesday.
Yoon’s attendance next Tuesday will likely come after he announces South Korea’s participation in the initiative during his summit with Biden in Seoul this Saturday.
“South Korea will play a proactive role and present a standard for new rules creation,” Kim Tae-hyo, first deputy chief of the presidential National Security Office, told reporters.
Kim also said South Korea will invite other countries to join the initiative and realize its national interest through the IPEF.
The IPEF is a framework unveiled by Biden at the East Asia Summit last October to strengthen U.S. economic cooperation with Indo-Pacific partners in key areas, such as fair trade, supply chain resilience, infrastructure, clean energy and decarbonization.
The initiative is widely viewed as an anti-China coalition aimed at excluding China from global supply chains.
A total of eight countries, including the United States, have so far expressed their intention to join the IPEF, Kim said.
Yoon said in a speech to parliament Monday that he will discuss ways to strengthen cooperation on global supply chains through the IPEF when he meets with Biden this week.
This compilation image shows President Yoon Suk-yeol (R) and U.S. President Joe Biden, with the photo of Biden taken from the EPA. (Yonhap)
hague@yna.co.kr
(END)
Article: https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20220518005651315?section=national/diplomacy
News articles do not necessarily reflect the views of KDVA. Any copyrighted materials depicted on this web site are presented for educational purposes only and no claim of ownership is made by KDVA.
KDVA ROK-U.S. Alliance Journal 2022-2
2022 2nd Quarter Edition
Featuring stories and articles by KDVA members and supporters of the ROK-U.S. Alliance.
Yonhap – Biden considers DMZ trip during upcoming visit to S. Korea: sources
By Song Sang-ho
SEOUL, May 17 (Yonhap) — U.S. President Joe Biden may visit the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas during his trip here later this week, as the allies are in consultations on his specific itinerary, informed sources said Tuesday.
Biden is set to arrive in Seoul on Friday, the eve of his first summit with President Yoon Suk-yeol. The DMZ, the heavily fortified inter-Korean border, is among the key sites that Biden could visit during his three-day stay, according to the sources.
The visit to the DMZ, if realized, could serve as a chance for Biden to get a better grasp of the reality of security on the Korean Peninsula and underline solidarity in the Seoul-Washington alliance amid concerns about the possibility of a North Korean nuclear test, observers said.
“Should Biden visit the DMZ, it could help ease concerns that the U.S., preoccupied with the Ukraine war, has been paying less attention to the situation on the peninsula,” Kim Tae-hyung, professor of political science at Soongsil University, said. “His DMZ visit could also be used to accentuate the strength of the bilateral alliance.”
This file photo, taken Dec. 7, 2013, shows U.S. Vice President Joe Biden (2nd from R) visiting the Demiliterized Zone separating the two Koreas. (Pool photo) (Yonhap)
Past U.S. presidents visited the DMZ during their trips to South Korea.
In 1983, then President Ronald Reagan traveled to the zone. A decade later, then President Bill Clinton also visited it. George W. Bush and Barack Obama made their high-profile visits to the zone in 2002 and 2012, respectively.
By far the most dramatic trip to the DMZ by an American president came in June 2019, when then President Donald Trump met with then South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in an historic trilateral encounter. Trump initially attempted to visit the DMZ aboard a helicopter in 2017, but the trip was canceled due to thick fog.
Biden himself toured the DMZ in his then capacity as the chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations in August 2001 and then as the vice president in December 2013.
While in South Korea, Biden could also visit Camp Humphreys, a sprawling U.S. military base in Pyeongtaek, 70 kilometers south of Seoul, to meet American service members and encourage them, observers said.
Following his trip here, Biden is set to fly to Japan to attend a Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) summit with the leaders of the other member nations: Australia, Japan and India.
sshluck@yna.co.kr
(END)
News articles do not necessarily reflect the views of KDVA. Any copyrighted materials depicted on this web site are presented for educational purposes only and no claim of ownership is made by KDVA.
Article: https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20220517002700325?section=national/defense
Yonhap – S. Korea, U.S. resume combined medical support exercise
SEOUL, May 13 (Yonhap) — South Korea and the United States held a combined medical support field training earlier this week after years of suspension caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the former’s Army said Friday.
The biannual exercise took place Wednesday and Thursday, with an aim to treat and transport casualties under a chemical warfare scenario, and enhance the allies’ interoperability, according to the Armed Forces Medical Command.
The U.S. Army’s 65th Medical Brigade and other medical units joined the exercise, mobilizing their key assets, including the KUH-1M, a variant of the KUH-1 Surion helicopter, the C-130 transport plane and the U.S. HH-60 choppers.
During the session, South Korean and U.S. service members practiced transporting wounded troops to Camp Humphreys, a key U.S. base in Pyeongtaek, 70 kilometers south of Seoul, by train.
South Korea and the U.S. launched the exercise, as they agreed in 2008 on the need for a combined field training on the transportation of troops injured in action. The exercise, however, did not take place in 2020 and last year due to COVID-19.
The resumption of the exercise came just a day after the inauguration of President Yoon Suk-yeol, who has vowed to cement the alliance and “normalize” the allies’ combined exercises.
Under the previous administration, Seoul and Washington had scaled down their major regular military exercises to help facilitate diplomacy with North Korea.
South Korean and U.S. service members participate in a field exercise in this undated file photo.
colin@yna.co.kr
(END)
News articles do not necessarily reflect the views of KDVA. Any copyrighted materials depicted on this web site are presented for educational purposes only and no claim of ownership is made by KDVA.
Article: https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20220513008400325?section=national/defense
Yonhap – U.S. Forces Korea congratulates Yoon on his inauguration
SEOUL, May 10 (Yonhap) — The U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) congratulated new South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol on his inauguration, stressing its commitment to maintaining “fight tonight” readiness against “any threat or adversary.”
In a Facebook post, the USFK issued the message as the South and the United States are stepping up defense cooperation amid concerns about the possibility of a North Korean nuclear test.
“Congratulations on officially becoming the 20th President of the Republic of Korea, Pres. Yoon Suk-yeol!,” the USFK wrote.
“We remain committed to providing a robust combined defensive posture and maintaining a high level of ‘fight tonight’ readiness to fulfill our obligation to protect and defend the ROK against any threat or adversary,” it added.
ROK stands for South Korea’s official name, Republic of Korea.
Earlier in the day, Yoon described the South Korea-U.S. alliance as a “linchpin” of regional peace and prosperity as he met with U.S. second gentleman Douglas Emhoff and other members of a U.S. delegation that attended his inauguration ceremony.
This photo, provided on April 7, 2022 by the U.S. Forces Korea, shows then President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol (C) meeting with South Korean and U.S. military personnel during a visit to Camp Humphreys, a key U.S. base in Pyeongtaek, 70 kilometers south of Seoul. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
sshluck@yna.co.kr
(END)
—
News articles do not necessarily reflect the views of KDVA. Any copyrighted materials depicted on this web site are presented for educational purposes only and no claim of ownership is made by KDVA.
Article: https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20220510011100325?section=national/defense
(Yonhap Interview) S. Korea-U.S. alliance ‘nearly at its best’: outgoing defense chief
By Kang Yoon-seung
SEOUL, May 9 (Yonhap) — The military alliance between South Korea and the United States has reached “nearly its best level” over the recent years, outgoing Defense Minister Suh Wook said Monday, rejecting claims it has waned due to the Moon Jae-in administration’s drive for peace with North Korea.
In an exclusive interview with Yonhap News Agency, Suh pointed to the close-knit cooperation he has maintained with his counterpart, Lloyd Austin, and other U.S. defense officials as proof that the alliance remains robust at least from a military perspective.
Concerns have persisted about a possible weakening of the alliance as Seoul and Washington have scaled down their major regular military exercises to help facilitate diplomacy with the recalcitrant regime.
“I have long dealt with the alliance, and it has reached nearly its best level,” Suh said, noting that even the alliance partnership is not “100” percent free from small disagreements.
The interview took place on the eve of the inauguration of President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol, who has vowed to cement the alliance and “normalize” the allies’ combined exercises.
Suh rejected suggestions that under the Moon administration, the allies have suspended most of their major combined exercises.
“The number of small-scale training events below regiment levels has rather increased,” he said.
Noting a shift in the security situation on the Korean Peninsula, Suh said it is up to the next government to determine what to do with the allied exercises.
He was referring to the North’s suspension in March of a self-imposed moratorium on its nuclear and intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) tests, once seen as a major feat of Moon’s dovish approach to the North.
Defense Minister Suh Wook speaks during an interview with Yonhap News Agency on May 9, 2022, in this photo released by the Ministry of National Defense. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
Suh also cited the possibility of the North continuing its provocative mode in the wake of its end to the moratorium.
“North Korea appears to be following its own timetable (on its weapons development) irrespective of the South’s political calendar,” the minister said. “But the North might take into account the presidential inauguration here and Biden’s planned visit to Seoul.”
U.S. President Joe Biden is scheduled to arrive in Seoul on May 20, the eve of the leaders’ first in-person summit.
Suh, who took office as the defense minister in September 2020, will be replaced by his successor, Lee Jong-sup, a retired three-star Army general. The National Assembly adopted a confirmation hearing report on Lee earlier in the day.
colin@yna.co.kr
(END)
Article: https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20220509006500325?section=national/defense
News articles do not necessarily reflect the views of KDVA. Any copyrighted materials depicted on this web site are presented for educational purposes only and no claim of ownership is made by KDVA.
Yonhap – S. Korea, U.S. begin combined drills involving F-35A stealth fighters
By Chae Yun-hwan and Song Sang-ho
SEOUL, May 9 (Yonhap) — South Korea and the United States on Monday kicked off their regular air force drills involving F-35A radar-evading fighters and other key assets, sources here said.
The two-week Korea Flying Training came on the eve of the inauguration of President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol, who has vowed to strengthen the alliance to counter North Korea’s evolving nuclear and missile threats.
The mobilization of the F-35A warplane appears to be the allies’ show of force against the North, following its launch of what was thought to be a long-range ballistic missile on Wednesday last week and an apparent submarine-launched ballistic missile three days later.
The size of this year’s training is similar to those of previous years, the sources said.
The training is a scaled-back version of the large-scale Max Thunder exercise that the two countries staged in the past with the massive mobilization of their air assets and service members.
This file photo, provided by the defense ministry, shows the South Korean Air Force’s F-35A stealth fighters performing an elephant walk under the command of Defense Minister Suh Wook at an unidentified air base on March 25, 2022, to show the country’s combat readiness following North Korea’s intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) test the previous day. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
yunhwanchae@yna.co.kr
(END)
—
News articles do not necessarily reflect the views of KDVA. Any copyrighted materials depicted on this web site are presented for educational purposes only and no claim of ownership is made by KDVA.
