Sitting at a desk in a remote Pentagon office, last Wednesday, Gen. Xavier Brunson has two maps displayed beside him. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
One hung on the wall shows the entire world, displayed in a wide rectangle. Another, printed on a paper sheet in front of him, depicts Seoul and its distance from other nearby capitals: Tokyo, Taipei, Manila and Beijing, among others. Rather than showing the usual north-to-south view of Asia, this one displays what the region would look like if peering out from China\u2019s eastern coast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Brunson has been sharing this second map in his many meetings in Washington, while arguing for the value of his command \u2014 overseeing the 28,500 U.S. troops in Korea. Seoul has one of Asia\u2019s strongest militaries and sits inside the vital \u201cfirst island chain\u201d of countries that arc off China\u2019s coast like a parenthesis. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt begins with looking from an enemy\u2019s perspective and then seeing where you are and how you might array your capabilities,\u201d Brunson said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
But South Korea also has one of the world\u2019s most alarming neighbors. In the last year, North Korea has traded troops and ammunition in exchange for Russian technology \u2014 on missiles, satellites, submarines, drones and most alarmingly a rogue nuclear program. Last year, North Korea conducted 47 ballistic missile tests, a number Brunson now expects to go down with Russia\u2019s aid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
All this makes Brunson\u2019s job \u2014 or jobs \u2014 harder. Alongside U.S. forces on the peninsula, he would also lead South Korean troops in the case of a war, an arrangement known as Combined Forces Command, or CFC. He also helms United Nations Command, the group of 18 countries that have helped keep the peace on the Korean Peninsula since 1950.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Brunson sat down with Defense News on May 7 to discuss the 75th anniversary of UN Command, the future of U.S. forces in Korea and the assumptions he\u2019s trying to upend with the help of his maps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This interview has been edited for brevity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
North Korea has changed its policies \u2014 more emphasis on sovereignty, a new view of the southern border. How does UN Command need to change as well?<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n
The North Koreans have changed fundamentally. The associations amongst the adversaries \u2014 those authoritarian colluders, if you will \u2014 in China and Russia and the [Democratic People\u2019s Republic of Korea], those relationships have changed and matured.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We have to do the same thing. What\u2019s really in the offing is that year 76 forward is going to be different for UN Command. The mandate remains, but our composition, our posture even may change in the future. And we\u2019ve got to be flexible enough to do that. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Do you expect big changes to posture or membership, potentially the addition of new member states?<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n
I won\u2019t mention these nations because those are bilateral things that are going on with the Republic of Korea, but there are nations that want to participate. We just recently got a New Zealand contingent that\u2019s come to the peninsula. And if you talk about things that excite me, it\u2019s when I talk to those ambassadors and they look at me and they say: \u2018Hey, we\u2019re working to get our soldiers here.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I wanted to ask about one of the other hats that you wear, which is the CFC. Has the timeline for handing over operational control of South Korean forces moved up?<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019ve heard some mention of the urgency of that. My piece is to continue to talk to leadership about where we stand. We\u2019re continually trying to assess where we are along the bilaterally agreed upon conditions-based [operational control] transfer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If that decision is made, then my job is to now develop the strategy that lets us keep that policy moving forward. When leadership has made a decision, it\u2019s my job to make it work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To be clear, there\u2019s no decision that has been made yet, though?<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n
None that I know of.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There were a few Patriot air defense batteries that were brought away from the peninsula to help with the campaign in the Middle East. Now we\u2019ve reached a ceasefire in Yemen, do you know when those are coming back?<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n
No, I don\u2019t know when exactly those capabilities are going to come back. But I do know that the [Indo-Pacific Command] commander has been able to ensure that we had other capabilities for an extended period of time within the Republic Korea. This is not the first time that capabilities have left the peninsula. In rough order, between 50 and 60 times, capabilities have gone to other places to support [military needs] around the globe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
My job is to ensure that we\u2019re able to meet the strictures of the Mutual Defense Treaty. I can say unequivocally, we can do everything that we\u2019re supposed to do. I just want the stuff back because those are my people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The increasing adversary that people in this building are concerned about is China. How are you working with South Korea to reorient around that threat?<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nations are going to make decisions that align with their own interests \u2014 always.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are economic relationships in the Indo-Pacific. There are security relationships in the Indo-Pacific. What I find is that our ability to see, sense, and understand in and around the peninsula is coming closer in alignment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For example, in the West Sea right now, there are structures being erected by the Chinese. The Koreans see that. There are encroachments in and around the northern limit line by Chinese fishing vessels and Chinese naval vessels that cause concern to the Koreans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They understand that those are threats that may have to be dealt with at some point in time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
South Korea has an election in June after the last president was impeached for declaring martial law. Regardless of who wins, do you think the recent work with Japan, South Korea and the U.S. will last?<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n
I think it will survive because the threat will continue to metastasize. If there\u2019s a thing that our adversaries have learned over time is the power of alliances, the power of proxies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You can look in the Middle East and see a proxy fight that\u2019s going on. You can look in our region now, and we\u2019ve got North Korea sending troops and materiel to Russia to participate in the conflict, not their own. We see China is still a benefactor for North Korea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The new leader in the Republic of Korea from 4 June forward has to take on the fact that his nation sits at the juncture of an alliance of sorts that he\u2019s got to counter. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
How many North Korean troops are now in Russia?<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n
I think 10 to 12 [thousand] is where we throw our estimates at.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This alignment gives North Korea different options than they\u2019ve had previously facing sanctions. How do you continue to counter that?<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s capability on capability. What can our adversaries do? What do we need to be able to do?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That really leads me to a sort of integrated assurance. It\u2019s using all the elements of power, of national power to assure our friends, partners and allies of our commitment to the alliance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What we have that\u2019s unique in South Korea is we have diplomacy, and we\u2019ve got the military there, partnered for the past 70 years. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
We have the means to continue to assure our ally that we are there. That also sounds the bell every day that we\u2019re on the peninsula to Russia and China. We\u2019re in the neighborhood.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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