U.S. President Donald Trump will visit Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, as the first destination during his visit to South Korea from Nov. 7 to 8, officials said Tuesday.
It will be the first visit of a U.S. president to the headquarters of the Eighth U.S. Army which relocated there in July.
The Eighth Army moved to the post after more than 60 years at Yongsan, central Seoul, as part of the U.S. Department of Defense's relocation project for U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) following more than a decade of planning since 2003.
Camp Humphreys is the largest U.S. Army Garrison overseas. It occupies 14.68 square kilometers of land ― three times the size of the Yongsan garrison ― with 513 buildings including schools, shops and banks as well as other facilities such as gyms, theaters and a water park for USFK personnel and their families.
Lt. Gen. Thomas S. Vandal, the commanding general of the Eighth Army, said the post is "the crown jewel of overseas installations of the Department of Defense" during the opening ceremony for the Eighth Army's new headquarters there in July.
The relocation project involved two major plans ― the Yongsan Relocation Plan (YRP) to move the Yongsan garrison including the USFK and EUSA headquarters, and the Land Partnership Plan (LPP) to consolidate the 2nd Infantry Division from north of Seoul also to Pyeongtaek.
The South Korean government paid the cost of the YRP, 9 trillion won ($8 billion), and the U.S. paid 7 trillion won for the LPP.
"By visiting Camp Humphreys, the symbol of the strong South Korea-U.S. alliance, President Trump will see the contributions the South Korean government is making to the alliance," a government official said.
The post may affect Trump's previous demand for South Korea to bear a greater share in the cost of keeping American forces here. Talks on defense cost sharing are scheduled to begin around the end of this year.