Defense Minister Lee Jong-seop's First Visit to Humphreys After Inauguration

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] Defense Minister Lee Jong-seop visited the U.S. Forces Korea Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, for the first time since his inauguration.

According to the Ministry of National Defense on the 8th, Minister Lee evaluated that the ROK-U.S. combined defense posture at Camp Humphreys remains solid and urged thorough preparation for the second half combined exercise, "Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS)." He especially emphasized focusing all capabilities to make this exercise, which integrates the government exercise and the combined exercise conducted separately since 2019, an opportunity to master whole-of-government crisis management and combined operational support procedures, and to advance the theater combined exercise system.

The ROK and U.S. have decided to conduct counterattack training against North Korea during the combined military exercise scheduled for late this month. The crisis management exercise (4 days) will cover initial responses to North Korean provocations and ROK-U.S. joint crisis management. The first phase exercise (5 days) will practice wartime transition, repelling North Korean attacks, and defending the Seoul metropolitan area. The second phase exercise (4 days) will train counteroffensive operations following a counterattack to secure safety in the Seoul metropolitan area.

Eleven outdoor maneuver exercises, including combined scientific combat training, combined attack helicopter firing training, and combined maritime patrol operations training, will resume. To facilitate the wartime operational control transfer, an evaluation of the Future Combined Command's Full Operational Capability (FOC) will be conducted under the command of a four-star general of the Republic of Korea Armed Forces.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of National Defense is preparing emergency measures as COVID-19 cases within the military have not decreased. There are concerns that the scheduled UFS exercise this month could be disrupted.

Minister Lee will conduct an emergency inspection on the afternoon of the 10th at the Ministry of National Defense in response to the resurgence of COVID-19 within the military. A situation assessment on COVID-19 will be held with key commanders, including the chiefs of each service branch, the Air Force Operations Commander, and the Navy Operations Commander. On the 7th, 1,243 new COVID-19 cases were reported within the military, and the spread has not yet subsided.