The commander of United States Forces Korea (USFK) recently underscored the Republic of Korea’s (ROK) importance in Indo-Pacific security: Its role extends beyond responding to threats on the Korean Peninsula.
“Korea sits at the crossroads of broader regional dynamics that shape the balance of power across Northeast Asia,” U.S. Army Gen. Xavier Brunson, commander of United Nations Command, Combined Forces Command, and USFK, said in a December 2025 keynote address at the ROK-U.S. Combined Policy Forum in Seoul.
“The recently published U.S. National Security Strategy reflects this reality by emphasizing the decisive importance of not only this region but of [South] Korea herself, and the vital role that capable, like-minded partners play in keeping the Indo-Pacific stable and predictable,” Brunson said, according to a transcript of his remarks provided by USFK.
“This peninsula’s geography, the sophistication of the ROK military, and the maturity of our combined command structures give this country strategic weight, the likes of which stretch far beyond our borders,” Brunson said. “When we talk about credible deterrence or maintaining stability across the region, the choices made in Seoul echo much farther than many recognize.”
Brunson had previously emphasized geographic position as a strategic advantage. He wrote in a November 2025 essay that an “east-up” map — one that rotates the traditional orientation of the region — shows how South Korea is in position to exert influence across areas that include China, North Korea and Russia.
Brunson’s recent remarks came amid U.S. calls for its Indo-Pacific Allies in the region to do more for collective defense. Washington has placed an increasing emphasis on “strategic flexibility” amid escalating threats from the Chinese Communist Party, North Korea and Russia. In the past two decades, Seoul has embarked on an effort to expand its military power with the goal of being able to assume wartime command of the combined U.S.-South Korean forces, according to Reuters. South Korea has 450,000 troops while the U.S. has more than 28,000 stationed in the country.
“If the capabilities of our military are greatly strengthened and South Korea takes the lead in defending the Korean Peninsula, the defense burden of the United States in the Indo-Pacific region will also be reduced,” South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said in a November 2025 statement from his office.
North Korea’s decision to enter military cooperation with Russia has advanced Pyongyang’s missile and nuclear programs in “dangerous ways,” according to Brunson. Those cooperative efforts have gained momentum since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, according to the New York Times newspaper. “[North Korean leader Kim Jong-un] has aided Russia’s war efforts by sending troops and large shipments of artillery shells, missiles and other weapons. South Korean intelligence officials and analysts said [that] Russia had reciprocated by providing North Korea with fuel and food, plus materials and technologies to help modernize its military, including its decrepit navy and air-defense systems,” The New York Times newspaper reported.
South Korean Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back, in his speech at the December 2025 forum, said cooperation between North Korea and Russia posed a “grave challenge” not only to the Korean Peninsula but also to the international community, according to The Korea Times. Ahn also recently vowed to swiftly push ahead with South Korea’s bid to build nuclear-powered submarines. Earlier in the month, North Korean media released photos of leader Kim JongUn inspecting a factory that built what it said was an 8,700-ton nuclear-powered submarine.
“This is why posture on the peninsula cannot be viewed as a legacy commitment; the threat itself is also modernizing,” Brunson said.