Establishment of the USFK Space Force Unit

Monitoring North Korea's ICBM Test Launches and More

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] The United States Forces Korea Space Force unit (SPACEFOR-KOR) has been established. Since the U.S. Space Force was founded at the end of 2019, this is the third field component command set up outside the mainland, following INDOPACOM and CENTCOM.

On the 14th, the United States Forces Korea held an inauguration ceremony for the SPACEFOR-KOR at Osan Air Base in Gyeonggi Province, tasked with missions such as monitoring North Korean missiles.

The USFK Space Force operates as a subordinate unit of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Space Command and functions as the field component command of the U.S. Space Force. Colonel Joshua McClellan of the U.S. Space Force was appointed as the commander.

According to USFK, the USFK Space Force provides space planning, specialized space capabilities, and space command and control functions to the USFK commander, carrying out missions including regional missile warning, Global Positioning System (GPS), and satellite communications. Previously, the Indo-Pacific Space Force was established at the end of last month with about 20 personnel under Brigadier General Anthony Mastaler.

The U.S. Space Force is expanding its organization by promoting plans to establish field component commands under each combatant command. In this context, space force units have been prioritized for activation under INDOPACOM, responsible for China and North Korea and USFK, and CENTCOM, responsible for Iran. This is seen as a response to the serious recognition of North Korea's nuclear and missile threats, including recent intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) test launches. USFK expects that the establishment of the Space Force will enable real-time missile warning capabilities. Experts also analyze that this move considers threats from China, Russia, and Iran.

Meanwhile, the inauguration ceremony was attended by USFK Commander Paul LaCamera and U.S. Indo-Pacific Space Command Commander (Brigadier General) Anthony Mastaler, among others.