South Korea: Joint Chiefs of Staff and USFK commander inspect combined command

Seoul, Aug 19 South Korea's Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) and the Commander of the US Forces Korea (USFK) on Tuesday underscored the importance of combined training in bolstering the allies' defence posture to establish peace on the Korean Peninsula, the JCS said.

JCS Chairman Admiral Kim Myung-soo and USFK Commander General Xavier Brunson, who also serves as the commander of the South Korea-US Combined Forces Command, made the point as they visited a military unit amid the Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise currently under way, Yonhap News Agency reported.

"Our training is complex, combined, joint, all-domain and ensures our readiness to meet any challenge," Brunson said during his visit to the Combined Military Information Support Operations Component Command. "Our ability to fight tonight and win tomorrow is grounded in how we train today."

He stressed the South Korea-US alliance is the allies' "asymmetric advantage" that can directly counter any threats from adversaries.

Kim highlighted the importance of military information support operations in modern warfare and called for utmost efforts to maximize combined operational capabilities through close communication.

Both Kim and Brunson noted that an "ironclad" combined defense posture is a powerful strength that can support efforts to establish peace on the Korean Peninsula, adding that such capabilities can only be strengthened through practical training, according to the JCS.

The visit came as South Korea and the United States launched their summertime drills Monday for an 11-day run through August 28.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un denounced the combined exercise as showing their will to "ignite a war" and called for a "rapid expansion" of nuclear arms, Pyongyang's state media said Tuesday. Seoul and Washington have described the annual drills as purely defensive.

Last week, South Korea's National Security Advisor Wi Sung-lak met with two visiting US Representatives and discussed ways to bolster industrial cooperation and the alliance between the two nations, the presidential office said.

Wi met Representative Beth Van Duyne (R-Texas) and Representative Richard McCormick (R-Georgia), as President Lee Jae Myung is preparing to hold his first summit with US President Donald Trump in Washington on August 25.

He highlighted that Korean companies have been investing in strategic sectors, such as semiconductors and automotive batteries, in their districts of Texas and Georgia, asking for their support to further advance the bilateral alliance and industrial cooperation for "win-win" outcomes, the office said in a release.

Samsung Electronics has been building a new semiconductor manufacturing facility in Taylor, Texas.

Hyundai Motor Group is constructing a new electric vehicle plant in Georgia and partnering with Korean battery maker SK On to build a battery plant there, in addition to SK On's two battery plants in the state.

Wi expressed his expectation that Lee and Trump will reaffirm the strong alliance and have in-depth discussions on ways to advance it, and the two lawmakers pledged their full support for a successful summit, the office said.

Van Duyne and McCormick also promised to support further US investments by Korean companies to strengthen economic cooperation and pledged to work together for bipartisan support in Congress for the Korea-US alliance, it noted.

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