What changes did Gen. Xavier Brunson propose for US-South Korea military exercises?

Brunson proposed moving away from exercises centered on large command posts and fixed locations. He suggested training across a much broader area, potentially spanning the Korean Peninsula from Jeju to Gyeonggi Province, with additional exercises held between the two major annual drills.

What concerns did Brunson raise about North Korean forces involved in the Ukraine war?

Brunson said North Korean forces participating in the war in Ukraine are being trained through actual combat and may be incorporating lessons from that experience into their own training and weapons development. He described this as a pressing challenge for the allies’ readiness.

USFK chief calls for more dispersed military drills across S. Korea, citing Ukraine war lessons

Q: Why did Xavier Brunson say military forces should be dispersed across South Korea?

Brunson cited the war in Ukraine, where drones and other modern battlefield technologies have made forces operating from fixed positions vulnerable. He said distributing forces across different locations would reduce their exposure to potential attacks.

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Summary

Gen. Xavier Brunson called for more geographically dispersed military exercises across South Korea during a panel discussion in Washington on Monday. He said the allies should move beyond large command-post exercises in fixed locations and consider training from Jeju to Gyeonggi Province. Brunson cited Ukraine war lessons about drones and modern battlefield technologies making fixed positions vulnerable. He also warned that North Korean forces in Ukraine are applying combat experience to their training and weapons development.

Key Facts

Brunson said the U.S. and South Korean forces should conduct more training between their two major annual exercises.
USFK recently conducted a strategic exercise without troops in which personnel traveled by helicopter to assess how forces could maneuver across South Korea during a crisis.
Brunson said the allies should distribute forces across different locations to reduce their vulnerability to potential attacks.
Brunson said North Korean forces participating in the war in Ukraine are incorporating battlefield lessons into their training and weapons development programs.

By Yonhap

Published Oct 13, 2026 7:51 am KST

Gen. Xavier Brunson, commander of the U.S. Forces Korea, leaves a gathering with Foreign Minister Cho Hyun and U.S. Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby, Seoul, Jan. 26. Yonhap

The commander of U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) on Monday called for more geographically dispersed military exercises across South Korea, citing lessons from the war in Ukraine and the need to adapt to evolving battlefield threats.

Gen. Xavier Brunson made the remarks during a panel discussion at the Association of the United States Army's (AUSA) annual conference in Washington, as he discussed ways to improve the readiness and deterrence posture of U.S. and South Korean forces.

"I think what we recognize is that largely the two big exercises every year in Korea focus on large command posts. We've got to move away from that," Brunson said.

The general suggested that the allies consider conducting exercises across a much broader geographical area rather than in fixed locations.

"What would it look like if we train from Jeju all the way up to Gyeonggi Province in the north?" he said. "So just imagine if we trained across the entirety of the peninsula."

Brunson said the allies should take into consideration lessons from the war in Ukraine, where the widespread use of drones and other modern battlefield technologies has left forces operating from fixed positions vulnerable.

He stressed the importance of distributing forces across different locations to reduce their vulnerability to potential attacks. "We won't be moored in place."

Brunson also raised the possibility of conducting more training between the two major annual exercises, rather than focusing preparations primarily on those events.

The general said the USFK had recently conducted a strategic exercise without troops, during which military personnel traveled by helicopter to examine how forces could maneuver across South Korea in the event of a crisis.

During the same discussion, Brunson warned that North Korean forces participating in the war in Ukraine were incorporating lessons learned from actual combat into their training and weapons development programs.

"I think that's one of the most pressing things that we see right now is the fact that we have an adversary who is being trained in the crucible of combat, while we're trying to find better ways to train ourselves to counter the things that they might be learning," he said.

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