WASHINGTON — Gen. Xavier Brunson, commander of U.S. Forces Korea, suggested that China and Russia factored into plans to station a Multi-Domain Task Force on the Korean Peninsula.
Speaking at a discussion hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington on the 13th, Brunson said the MDTF deployment is aimed at "building layered sensing capabilities on the Korean Peninsula." He added that the purpose is "to better understand not only the operating environment on the peninsula but the broader surrounding environment." The remarks indicate the deployment is being pursued with China and Russia in mind, not just North Korea.
The MDTF is a U.S. Army unit that conducts multi-domain operations spanning land, sea, air, space and cyber and electronic warfare. Brunson has publicly argued for stationing an MDTF on the peninsula. The Wall Street Journal reported in August that of the three MDTFs — based in Washington state, Germany and Hawaii — the Germany-based unit was being considered for relocation to the Korean Peninsula.
Brunson also said that "if you just draw a line on a map, you can see the distance from Beijing to Seoul." In May, he likened South Korea to "a dagger placed at the center of Asia."
On the transfer of wartime operational control, he said he "fully supports a conditions-based transfer" and that "if the U.S. president or the secretary of defense ordered an immediate transfer, I would comply." He stressed, however, that he would "explain the risks of carrying it out without the conditions being fully met." The South Korean government had planned to set a target year for the transfer at the Security Consultative Meeting with the United States next month, but the schedule may slip to December because of the U.S. midterm elections.
Brunson said North Korea's missile capabilities and range are expanding, aided by lessons from the war in Ukraine and Russian support, and pointed to dispersed force posture as a response. "Depending on the hypersonic vehicles Kim Jong-un is now trying to develop, the threat will spread further," he said, adding that South Korea, the United States and Japan, along with the member states of the United Nations Command, should respond jointly. He also said that "military equipment could be repaired in Korea rather than sent back to the U.S. mainland," adding that there is "a need to build a regional logistics support hub that can draw on Korea's strong industry to support other regions as well."