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USFK commander reportedly apologizes to Korea following air standoff with China

Published: 24 Feb. 2026, 20:20

Gen. Xavier Brunson, commander of U.S. Forces Korea, leaves a gathering with Foreign Minister Cho Hyun and U.S. Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby in Seoul on Jan. 26. [YONHAP]

The commander of U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) has delivered an apology to Seoul after a U.S. Air Force exercise over the Yellow Sea prompted a rare standoff with Chinese fighter jets, sources said Tuesday.

Gen. Xavier Brunson delivered the apology to Korean military authorities over the situation surrounding the U.S. Air Force drill staged from last Wednesday to Thursday, according to the sources.

His apology came after Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back delivered a complaint in a call with Brunson last week over the failure to share details of the exercise with Korean authorities in advance.

On Wednesday, U.S. and Chinese fighter jets engaged in a rare standoff over the Yellow Sea during a U.S. Air Force training operation that involved some 10 USFK F-16 fighter jets.

The F-16s reportedly flew to an area between the respective air defense identification zones of Korea and China, prompting the Chinese military to dispatch its own fighter jets to the scene, but no clash occurred.

The incident led the U.S. military to end the exercise on Thursday, earlier than the planned end on Saturday.

A USFK official declined to comment on the matter, saying that the military doesn't "publicly comment on conversations between senior leaders."

Yonhap