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JCS chief, USFK commander inspect combined command amid joint drills

Published: 19 Aug. 2025, 20:56 Updated: 20 Aug. 2025, 15:02

Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Kim Myung-soo, left, and United States Forces Korea Commander Gen. Xavier Brunson visit the Combined Military Information Support Operations Component Command on Aug. 19. [NEWS1]

The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) and the commander of the United States Forces Korea (USFK) on Tuesday underscored the importance of combined training in bolstering the allies' defense posture to establish peace on the Korean Peninsula, the JCS said.

JCS Chairman Adm. Kim Myung-soo and USFK Commander Gen. Xavier Brunson, who also serves as the commander of the Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command, made the point as they visited a military unit with the Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise currently underway.

"Our training is complex, combined, joint, all-domain and ensures our readiness to meet any challenge," Brunson said during his visit to the Combined Military Information Support Operations Component Command. "Our ability to fight tonight and win tomorrow is grounded in how we train today."

He stressed the Korea-U.S. alliance is the allies' "asymmetric advantage" that can directly counter any threats from adversaries.

Kim highlighted the importance of military information support operations in modern warfare and called for utmost efforts to maximize combined operational capabilities through close communication.

Both Kim and Brunson noted that an "ironclad" combined defense posture is a powerful strength that can support efforts to establish peace on the Korean Peninsula, adding that such capabilities can only be strengthened through practical training, according to the JCS.

The visit came as Korea and the United States launched their summertime drills Monday for an 11-day run through Aug. 28.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un denounced the combined exercise as showing the two nations' will to "ignite a war" and called for a "rapid expansion" of nuclear arms, Pyongyang's state-run media outlet reported Tuesday. Seoul and Washington have described the annual drills as purely defensive.

Yonhap