Commander of U.S. Forces Korea: “We need distributed training, moving away from large-scale command post training.”

Referring to North Korea's actual combat experience in the Ukraine War, "The situation has changed... We are discussing distributed training with South Korea."

“Sustainability of the Pacific battle line is important” without mentioning China… Presentation of utilization of Korean defense industry base

(Washington = Yonhap News) Correspondent Baek Na-ri and Jang Dong-woo = Commander of U.S. Forces Korea Commander Xavier Brunson said that the ROK-U.S. joint training is being conducted in a large-scale command post exercise format, but distributed training is needed to suit the changed situation.

This is interpreted to mean that in a situation where North Korea is gaining practical combat experience by sending troops to Ukraine, it is necessary to conduct operations in a distributed manner throughout the Korean Peninsula to avoid becoming an easy target.

Commander Brunson attended the U.S. Army Association's annual event held in Washington, D.C. on the 12th (local time) and said that ROK-U.S. joint exercises are held twice a year in the form of large-scale command post exercises, and said, "We need to break away from this method."

Commander Brunson emphasized that we must acknowledge that the situation has changed, considering the reality that North Korea is gaining practical combat experience through sending troops to the Ukraine war, and explained, "We are discussing with Kim Sung-min, Deputy Commander of the ROK-US Combined Forces Command, how we can conduct operations in a decentralized manner."

“What would it look like if we trained from Jeju to Gyeonggi Province,” Brunson said. “Imagine if we were to conduct training all over the Korean Peninsula and be able to say (against North Korea), ‘You can’t apply what you learned in Ukraine to us.’”

He emphasized, "We must learn the same lesson and disperse ourselves in a way that does not make us targets. Not being fixed in one place."

Commander Brunson asked what would happen if additional training was conducted between the two large-scale ROK-US joint exercises each year, and also said that they had recently conducted 'strategic training without troops' by going out in a helicopter and simulating an emergency situation.

This is interpreted to mean that the current ROK-US joint training method, which is conducted in the form of command post exercises, needs to be changed to include distributed training, and that this is being discussed with South Korea. In line with the situation in which U.S. President Donald Trump showed his intention to resume North Korea-U.S. dialogue last August and ordered a reduction in joint ROK-U.S. military exercises, attention is being paid to whether this will lead to changes in actual training methods.

Commander Brunson explained the 'Regional Sustaining Support Base' concept promoted by the US Forces Korea and pointed out that Korea has a world-class defense industrial base and production capabilities.

“In the future, especially in combat in the Pacific, sustainment capabilities will be important, whether that be the ability to protect forward deployments or the ability to be self-sufficient within the First Island Chain from Korea,” he emphasized.

Commander Brunson added, “The regional sustainment support base concept means bringing these means of production to the theater,” adding, “It’s about taking full advantage of what our partners are good at and applying it to our equipment.”

Although it did not directly mention China, it can be interpreted as suggesting a plan to secure the sustainability of the fight by utilizing Korea's defense industrial base in case of an emergency in Taiwan.