ED Korea, US not in sync

Gen. Xavier Brunson, commander of United States Forces Korea, is seen at Four Seasons Hotel in Seoul, Jan. 26. Yonhap

The United States Forces Korea (USFK) issued a rare late-night statement denying Korean media reports that its commander, Gen. Xavier Brunson, had apologized for last Wednesday’s aerial standoff between U.S. and Chinese fighter jets.

“USFK conducts regular training to maintain the highest level of readiness and fulfill its missions. We do not apologize for maintaining readiness,” the statement said.

The denial came Tuesday night, hours after local media reported that Brunson had apologized for the U.S.-China confrontation near South Korea’s airspace on Feb. 18, the final day of the Lunar New Year holiday.

USFK also refuted claims that South Korea’s defense ministry had not been properly notified in advance of the drills. “Commander Xavier Brunson directly communicated with Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back to reconfirm that prior notification had been provided to the South Korean side regarding the incident,” USFK said. “However, we expressed regret over the failure to report the matter in a timely manner to the defense minister and the JCS chairman.”

The statement signals a troubling development in the Korea-U.S. alliance. It amounts to a public acknowledgment that Seoul and Washington were not fully aligned. It also suggests U.S. discomfort over differing accounts of the incident.

The situation is embarrassing for South Korea. Allies rarely contradict one another, at least publicly, typically opting instead for diplomatic language to shield differences.

Strains in the South Korea-U.S. alliance were predictable, if not apparent, after President Lee Jae Myung took office in June last year. Lee and U.S. President Donald Trump have sharply different approaches to China and North Korea.

Lee has pledged to improve relations with Beijing, noting that China is South Korea’s largest trading partner and a vital economic partner. He has also vowed to pursue engagement with North Korea to ease inter-Korean tensions, saying that he would create a situation where the two Koreas feel no need to fight.

Trump, by contrast, has centered his global strategy on countering China, pressing countries — allies included — to choose between Washington and Beijing. The era of balancing business ties with both powers, in this view, is over.

The Lee administration, however, has sought to preserve the U.S. alliance as a security cornerstone while maintaining economic ties with China. A clash between Lee and Trump was therefore inevitable from the outset.

Lee’s vision may have appeared reasonable before Trump’s reelection. But the current geopolitical reality leaves South Korea with shrinking room to maneuver between the two superpowers. If Seoul continues to pursue a dual-track approach, further friction with Washington will be inevitable, potentially straining the alliance further.

Tensions surfaced in January, when the U.S. proposed a trilateral aerial drill with South Korea and Japan to take place in February. Seoul requested a postponement, citing scheduling conflicts. The Lunar New Year holiday and Japan’s Takeshima Day observance, the defense ministry said, would make the timing sensitive.

Despite the request, the U.S. proceeded with aerial drills with Japan on Feb. 16 and 18, and conducted a separate USFK exercise on Feb. 18.

Another sign of discord emerged this week when a joint press briefing on the annual Korea-U.S. military exercises, initially set for Wednesday, was postponed. The defense ministry said consultations were ongoing to narrow differences over the drills. Seoul reportedly proposed scaling back the Freedom Shield exercise to skip field training.

The allies also remain divided over the Sept. 19 Comprehensive Military Agreement, signed at a 2018 summit in Pyongyang between then-President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. The accord aimed to reduce tensions by introducing a set of measures, including the establishment of no-fly zones along the Military Demarcation Line.

The agreement effectively collapsed after a series of North Korean provocations, including the test-firing of missiles and the launch of military satellites.

On Feb. 18, Unification Minister Chung Dong-young said the ministry would review and potentially restore the Sept. 19 agreement preemptively.

Brunson voiced concern over the proposal, warning that such measures could restrict the South Korean military’s readiness.

The Lee-Trump divide has triggered frequent clashes between Seoul and Washington. Public disagreements, if recurrent, do little to strengthen the alliance. The Lee administration should craft a more realistic strategy to navigate rapidly shifting geopolitical dynamics.