ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY

Miscalculation by North Korea’s leaders could quickly escalate into a global problem, the general in charge of U.S. Forces Korea warned.

“Such a conflict could immediately become a regional conflict and have a global impact, just as Russia’s war against Ukraine has,” Gen. Paul LaCamera said in testimony before the House Armed Services Committee.

The deterrence record on North Korea is spotty, warns Duyeon Kim of the Center for a New American Security. 

U.S. forces in Korea have faced a changing and challenging training environment but remain ready to maintain peace and security on the peninsula, Gen. Robert Abrams told the House Armed Services Committee. 

Testifying March 10, the commander of the United Nations Command, Combined Forces Command and U.S. Forces Korea said North Korea “continues to pose a threat to the international security environment with no indication that they have ceased development of nuclear capabilities.” 

The end of high-profile U.S. and South Korean training exercises has not diminished warfighting capabilities, according to Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford.

“I am very confident today that we have not compromised the readiness of the alliance to go to war, should that be required,” Dunford said May 29 at a Brookings Institution event in Washington, D.C.

The alliance between the U.S. and South Korea “is stronger and more ready than ever,” the top U.S. general in the Republic of Korea said May 22.

Speaking at the Association of the U.S. Army’s LANPAC Symposium and Exposition in Honolulu, Gen. Robert B. Abrams, commander of U.S. Forces Korea and U.N. Command-Combined Forces Command, said the 65-year-old alliance between the U.S. and South Korea remains critical for economic and security reasons.

The Army is making sure the Korean War, a conflict that took 36,000 American lives and is often referred to as “the Forgotten War,” is anything but forgotten as the 69th anniversary of its beginning approaches.

“Where the Hell is Korea? Warfare in the Land of Sorrow,” a new exhibit opening May 18 at the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania, showcases the war’s timeline and presents stories of soldiers who fought on the front lines and those who supported them. 

The nominee to become the top U.S. commander in Korea said the evacuation of civilians from the Korean Peninsula presents “a wicked problem,” but he is confident twice-a-year drills have prepared the U.S. military for the problem it faces.

He also stressed that the risk to civilians isn’t limited to the families of U.S. troops but threatens a wide population.

The U.S. has no intention of withdrawing troops from South Korea as part of any agreement with North Korea, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said.

“I really don’t know where this stuff comes from,” Mattis told reporters. “Once someone has made it up, apparently it gets a life of its own.” Mattis’ remarks came as the U.S. and North Korea are preparing for a possible June 12 summit in Singapore.

A joint U.S-South Korean decision to postpone planned military exercises until after the 2018 Winter Olympics was more of a practical than political decision, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said.

The PyeongChang Olympics begin Friday, February 9 with the opening ceremony and a few events, and ends February 25. Joint military drills had been planned in South Korea during at least part of the international games but the two countries announced they would hold off.