By Jung Sung-ki
Staff Reporter
Gen. B. B. Bell, commander of U.S. Forces Korea (USFK), will become the grandfather of a Korean baby girl, as his son and wife have adopted an eighth-month baby from a Korean adoption agency, a report said Sunday.
Burwell Baxter Bell IV, the commander's only son, and his wife Jennifer recently adopted the child after years of efforts, since the couple became sterile, according to the Chosun Ilbo newspaper. The couple live in Florida.
The baby's name is ``Jinhee Bell,'' it said.
``Gen. Bell feels very happy and blessed to have the Korean granddaughter,'' a USFK official was quoted as saying by the newspaper.
Bell concurrently serves as chief of the Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command and the United Nations Command.
Last December, the top U.S. military officer in South Korea was given a Korean name, Baek Bo-guk, symbolizing the strong alliance between South Korea and the United States by a Korea-U.S. friendship group.
Baek in Korean symbolizes the color white, which was worn by Ancient Koreans and has positive associations for Koreans, while Bo-guk means ``defending a country,'' according to the Korea-U.S. Alliance Friendship.
Bell, who took over as the USFK chief in September 2005, will retire from the military in June, USFK officials said.
The U.S. Defense Department announced last month that Lt. Gen. Walter Sharp, director of the Pentagon's Joint Staff, will take over Bell's posts.