SEOUL, October 21 (AJP) -U.S. Forces Korea Commander Gen. Xavier Brunson called Wednesday for a “fortified allied supply chain” combining American military capabilities with South Korean manufacturing strength to preserve the alliance’s regional advantage amid mounting security threats.
“Our mission remains immovable: to defend the Republic of Korea,” Brunson said at a special luncheon hosted by the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea at the Mondrian Seoul Itaewon hotel.
With controversy still simmering over his recent remarks on territorial jurisdiction and wartime command, Brunson kept his address focused on the industrial foundations of deterrence, steering clear of the disputes over the Demilitarized Zone and the transfer of wartime operational control.
“We need to forge a fortified allied supply chain, an unbroken network of production,” he told the business audience. “When our industries integrate that closely, you create strategic endurance.”
The luncheon brought together Brunson and U.S. Ambassador Michelle Park Steel with about 200 business representatives to discuss the alliance’s security and economic priorities. It marked the 250th anniversary of American independence.
Brunson’s appeal placed South Korean factories and shipyards at the center of the alliance’s ability to keep forces equipped, repaired and ready without waiting for supplies to cross the Pacific.
He pointed to maintenance and overhaul work at Korean shipyards that allows American naval vessels to return to sea ahead of schedule, calling it “operational deterrence.”
“Deterrence does not begin and end with a platform. I think it’s built on people and is sustained by the industrial and technological foundation that stands behind it.”
His argument reflected a security environment increasingly strained by military cooperation between North Korea and Russia and activities intended to pressure the allies without provoking outright conflict.
“We see dangerous, deepening defense cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow, and we see persistent gray zone activities intended to test our resolve and challenge regional stability,” he said.
The purpose of the alliance, he added, was to make an adversary weigh the consequences of confrontation and decide against it. “It’s to ensure an adversary looks at our alliance, calculates the cost and says, ‘Not today.’”
Addressing the businesses whose production and technology would underpin that readiness, Brunson said: “The alliance has always been our greatest asymmetric advantage in this region. Today that advantage rests wholly in your hands.”
A discussion moderated by AMCHAM Chairman and CEO James Kim also explored South Korea’s potential to become a regional military logistics hub, drawing on its defense and manufacturing capabilities, according to the chamber.
Other topics included regulatory predictability and fair competition in digital industries, investment in U.S. energy and liquefied natural gas cooperation. Kim said economic and national security had become inseparable, with cooperation extending across shipbuilding, semiconductors, batteries, aerospace and defense.
The emphasis on shared interests came as criticism of Brunson’s earlier comments continued in Seoul.
Brunson also heads the UNC, which oversees compliance with the Korean War armistice, and the South Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command.
Seoul conveyed its concerns through diplomatic and military channels. The UNC subsequently said South Korea’s sovereignty was beyond question and that Brunson had been describing his military and administrative responsibilities under the armistice.
A separate dispute concerns his assertion at the same Washington forum that evolving threats require “new standards” for transferring wartime operational control to a South Korean commander.
Seoul seeks to complete the handover before President Lee Jae Myung’s term ends in 2030. The agreed conditions cover South Korea’s ability to lead combined defense, the alliance’s capacity to counter North Korean nuclear and missile threats, and a security environment conducive to the transition.
Brunson’s reference to new standards raised concerns in Seoul that additional requirements could delay the handover indefinitely.
The differences are expected to be discussed at the annual Security Consultative Meeting between the allies’ defense chiefs. The meeting could be pushed back to December from its customary late-October or early-November window, although South Korea’s Defense Ministry has said no specific date has been finalized.
Brunson acknowledged the backlash with a joke at Wednesday’s luncheon, referring to a sign near the U.S. Embassy telling him to go home. “I don’t live in Seoul. I live in Pyeongtaek,” he said.
On military readiness, his message was more direct. “Our forces are prepared and ready to answer anything that’s necessary for them,” he said. “That’s our only job.”
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