Latest news with #UnitedNationsCommand
Scoop
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
Commander Of US And UN Forces In Korea Discusses Korean War Anniversary In Visit To The East-West Center
Honolulu, May 15, 2025 Deterrence and diplomacy are critical to the mission of maintaining peace in Northeast Asia, Gen. Xavier T. Brunson, commander of United Nations Command, said Wednesday during a visit to the East-West Center. The Center hosted Brunson, the four-star general who has served as commander of UN Command, the ROK/US Combined Forces Command, and US Forces Korea since December 2024, for a private roundtable discussion ahead of two upcoming milestones: the 75th anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War in June 1950 and the creation of the UN Command a month later. 'For over 75 years, something that was begun with a UN Security Council resolution has managed to stand, and it's protected the peace,' Gen. Brunson said in highlighting the importance of the UN Command in deterring aggression in the region. Coinciding with the Center's own 65th anniversary on May 14, the event was attended by approximately 60 invited guests and featured keynote remarks by Gen. Brunson and welcome remarks from Gen. Seo Young Lee, South Korea's consul general in Honolulu. East-West Center Presidential Chair Jean H. Lee moderated the discussion with Gen. Brunson and Timothy Martin, Seoul Bureau Chief for The Wall Street Journal. Brunson emphasized that in today's interconnected world, US relationships in the Indo-Pacific are multidimensional by necessity. 'What we find increasingly across the Indo-Pacific is that we don't have the luxury of being binary in any way, shape, or form, because our economies are entwined,' he said. 'And where economics lie, the livelihoods of the people … are also impacted and affected.' Gen. Brunson also addressed the shifting relationships among China, Russia, and North Korea, emphasizing the importance of international cooperation in the current security environment. Although fighting between North and South Korea ended with an armistice in 1953, the conflict is still considered ongoing in the absence of a formal peace treaty. The Korean War's 75th anniversary also comes at a critical moment for South Korea, which will hold a snap election on June 3rd in the wake of the impeachment of former President Yoon Suk Yeol over his declaration of martial law in December. The discussion with Gen. Brunson was supported by the First Hawaiian Lecture Series Fund, established by First Hawaiian Bank to provide a forum at the East-West Center for dialogue on key international issues and new ideas. In his remarks, Gen. Brunson emphasized the importance of such conversations to the security and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific. 'Dialogue is absolutely crucial in this region,' he said. 'It's by dialogue that policy is informed; it's by dialogue that strategies are formulated. … And if we can see things, if we can sense things, if we can understand things better, then we can take the appropriate actions that help all boats in the region to rise.' The E ast-West Center promotes better relations and understanding among the people and nations of the United States, Asia, and the Pacific through cooperative study, research, and dialogue. Established by the US Congress in 1960, the Center serves as a resource for information and analysis on critical issues of common concern, bringing people together to exchange views, build expertise, and develop policy options.
Korea Herald
28-03-2025
- Politics
- Korea Herald
Acting president slams North Korea's ‘illegal arms trade' with Russia
Acting President and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo on Friday said that North Korea's ongoing illegal arms trade with Russia has allowed the 'degenerate' regime to plot new forms of provocations. 'Through illegal arms trade with Russia, (North Korea) has been plotting new forms of provocations by upgrading its weapons system aimed to threaten us,' Han said in a speech marking the 10th West Sea Defense Day. Friday's ceremony was held at the national cemetery in Daejeon to honor and remember the 55 sailors and Marines killed while defending the western inter-Korean maritime border. 'We were able to defend the West Sea through the noble sacrifices of our heroes, but even today, North Korea's most degenerate regime on earth continues to threaten peace on the Korean Peninsula and of the world," he added. Despite international sanctions banning arms trade with Pyongyang, Moscow has been expanding its military ties with the reclusive regime since last year. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday listed North Korea as a partner country with which he is willing to cooperate to settle its war in Ukraine, according to Russian state news agency Tass. South Korea's military, in a report released Thursday, said the North is believed to have deployed at least 3,000 additional troops to Russia in the first two months of this year, despite heavy casualties among soldiers already sent to support Moscow in its war against Ukraine. The North is believed to have deployed about 11,000 soldiers to the Russia-Ukraine front in its first round of deployments around October last year. It has been receiving technological aid to its weapons program in exchange, officials and experts have noted. Han said that South Korea is maintaining a full readiness posture to protect the people against any provocations from the North. "The young soldiers who inherited the fighting spirit of the West Sea warriors will respond immediately and overwhelmingly to any North Korean provocation based on strong combat capabilities and a firm readiness posture," he said. He pledged to advance the decades-old South Korea-US alliance and solidarity with the international community to maintain the security posture. Since the 1970s, North Korea has engaged in military provocations along the Northern Limit Line, the disputed maritime demarcation line between the South and North. Its regime has argued that the NLL was drawn unilaterally by the United Nations Command after the 1950-53 Korean War. Three naval skirmishes have taken place, in 1999, 2002 and 2009. The 2002 clash, referred to as the second Yeonpyeong Battle, left six South Korean sailors dead and 19 wounded. Additionally, the sinking of the South's Cheonan corvette in March 2010 left 46 sailors dead, after a North Korean submarine torpedoed the warship near the NLL. Pyongyang, however, has denied responsibility. Later that year, the North also bombed the nearby island Yeonpyeongdo, killing two Marines and two civilians.
Korea Herald
18-03-2025
- Politics
- Korea Herald
Unification ministry expected to resume Panmunjom tour next month
The unification ministry is expected to resume its tour program to the truce village of Panmunjom on the inter-Korean border next month following its suspension in late 2023 due to military tensions, officials said Tuesday. "With the goal of resuming the tour program to Panmunjom next month, (the ministry) is carrying out the necessary preparatory works for its operations," a ministry official said. The ministry plans to open it to policy-related visitors first and then expand access to the general public if its operations are deemed stable, the official said. The government had initially halted the Panmunjom tour in July 2023 after US Army private Travis King crossed the border into North Korea during a tour to the Joint Security Area near the border, resulting in heightened military tensions. In November that year, the tour was partially resumed, but it was completely suspended again a week later as North Korean soldiers on duty in the North's part of Panmunjom began carrying heavy firearms, heightening military tensions. Since then, only foreigners, including foreign Korean War veterans, have been allowed to visit Panmunjom through an irregular tour program. The ministry has decided to work toward resuming the tour in response to continuing public calls and has reportedly carried out consultations with related agencies, including the United Nations Command, which oversees military activities in the Demilitarized Zone. (Yonhap)
Korea Herald
10-03-2025
- Politics
- Korea Herald
S. Korea, US launch Freedom Shield drill, first under Trump's 2nd term
South Korea and the United States militaries on Monday kicked off their annual Freedom Shield exercise, a large-scale combined drill aimed at strengthening the allies' readiness capabilities. This year, the drill focuses on command post exercises based on computer simulations, assuming an all-out war against North Korea, according to South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff. "This year's scenario incorporates evolving North Korean tactics observed in its military activities, including the deployment of drones, GPS jamming and cyberattacks, particularly in relation to North Korea's military support for Russia," the JCS said. The exercise includes field training exercises across South Korea, with the number of outdoor maneuvers increasing to 16 from 10 last year. Approximately 19,000 South Korean troops will participate. The JCS also underscored the exercise's defensive nature, noting that member states of the United Nations Command are set to participate, while the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission will monitor the drill to ensure compliance with the 1953 Korean War Armistice Agreement. The exercise drew strong criticism from North Korea, which claimed it legitimizes Pyongyang's "strongest response measures" against the US. In a statement released on Sunday, North Korea's Foreign Ministry condemned the drills as a continuation of Washington's "military hysteria," further asserting, "The US' reckless actions and irrational choices will ultimately undermine its own security." Earlier this month, Kim Yo-jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, said North Korea is seriously considering 'escalating strategic-level deterrence measures' when the USS Carl Vinson, a US nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, arrived at a port in Busan participate in the exercise. South Korea's military stated that it is closely monitoring North Korea for potential provocations, including intercontinental ballistic missile launches or a seventh nuclear test, in cooperation with the US. As of Monday, no unusual North Korean military activity had been detected, South Korea's Defense Ministry spokesperson Jeon Ha-kyu said during a press briefing in Seoul. The Freedom Shield exercise will run through March 20. Meanwhile, live-fire drills scheduled as part of the field training exercises have been canceled following an accident last Thursday, when two South Korean KF-16 fighter jets mistakenly dropped eight bombs on a civilian area, injuring 29 people.
