Defense chief highlights S. Korea-US alliance, readiness on 1st visit to USFK base
Defense Minister Kang Shin-chul, left, speaks with U.S. Forces Korea Commander Gen. Xavier Brunson during their meeting at Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, Friday. Courtesy of Ministry of National Defense
Defense Minister Kang Shin-chul underscored the South Korea-U.S. alliance and their firm combined readiness during his first visit to the main U.S. military base south of Seoul on Friday, his office said.
The trip marked Kang's first visit in his new capacity to Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, about 60 kilometers south of Seoul, since taking office last month.
Kang, a retired Army general and former deputy commander of the South Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command (CFC), met with U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) Commander Gen. Xavier Brunson and discussed "key pending issues," the defense ministry said, without providing further details.
"Minister Kang reaffirmed the solid combined defense posture and close coordination between South Korea and the United States," the ministry said in a release.
"He highlighted the importance of the resolve to 'fight together,' citing lessons from the history of war, and called for an airtight defense posture amid a grave security landscape on the Korean Peninsula," it said.
Discussions may well have included last week's land mine blast in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) that injured three South Korean troops. The border area is overseen by the U.N. Command (UNC), where Brunson also serves as commander, as well as the CFC.
They also likely discussed the ongoing efforts toward the transition of wartime operational control (OPCON) of South Korean troops from Washington to Seoul.
Kang also commended the senior leadership of the USFK, UNC and CFC for their commitment to maintaining peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula, the USFK said in a separate readout.