Commander Brunson Visits Defense Ministry... Did They Discuss Scaling Back Exercises?

Potential Impact on OPCON Transfer if Joint Exercises Are Scaled Back

Yonhap News

USFK Commander Xavier Brunson visited the Ministry of National Defense building on August 18. As the visit followed U.S. President Donald Trump’s directive to scale back the South Korea-U.S. joint military exercises, it is believed that follow-up measures and related issues may have been discussed between the two allies.

On this afternoon, Commander Brunson visited the Ministry of National Defense and simply told reporters that he “had a meeting,” but did not provide specific answers regarding whom he met with or what was discussed.

On August 16 (local time), President Trump announced on the social media platform Truth Social that, “Given the very good relationship that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and I have established, I have never liked the fact that the U.S. has long agreed to participate in joint military exercises with South Korea,” and revealed that he had ordered Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to drastically scale down the South Korea-U.S. joint exercises. The following day, the U.S. Department of Defense—referred to as the “Department of War” in the statement—issued an official stance that it was “actively working to implement the commander-in-chief’s directive,” emphasizing its commitment to carrying out the order. Consequently, there has been speculation that the South Korean and U.S. military authorities could launch detailed discussions to reduce the scale of the joint exercises.

In particular, there are expectations that even the regularly scheduled “Ulchi Freedom Shield” (UFS)—a combined exercise for the defense of the Korean Peninsula in case of emergency, which began on August 17—could be subject to reduction. In fact, some of the planned field training exercises (FTX), which were set to be conducted as part of UFS, are reportedly being canceled following President Trump’s “substantial reduction” directive. During the UFS exercise period, 14 combined FTX involving battalion-level or higher integration were scheduled. If some of these are carried out separately by South Korea and the United States or solely by the South Korean military, the number of combined FTX will decrease overall.

Given President Trump’s clear instructions, it is possible that the U.S. Department of Defense may present specific proposals or requests to the South Korean side regarding the reduction of joint exercises. The situation is reminiscent of the first Trump administration. After the summit between Kim Jong Un, Chairman of the State Affairs Commission of North Korea, and President Trump in Singapore in 2018, a series of South Korea-U.S. joint exercises were canceled. In August of that year, the UFG combined exercise was suspended for the first time in 28 years, and from the following year, both the Key Resolve and the Foal Eagle (field training exercises) were discontinued.

If the South Korea-U.S. joint exercises are canceled, readiness against North Korea could be weakened, and the U.S. Forces Korea’s role in countering China may further expand. It is also being suggested that this could affect the transfer of wartime operational control currently being pursued by the Lee Jaemyung administration.

Amid these circumstances, the government stated that it is “discussing ways of making a military contribution” regarding freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, drawing further attention. It is the first time that an official government response used the phrase “military contribution” regarding the Hormuz situation. Military contributions entail various risks, including the safety of South Korean personnel, concerns about involvement in the Iran conflict, and potential diplomatic friction.

To dispatch troops abroad, approval must be obtained from the National Assembly. According to reports, military authorities are reviewing a list of deployable assets in consultation with the U.S. side. Mentioned possibilities include maritime patrol aircraft, logistics support ships, and mine detection equipment.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.