Alliance coordination, stronger readiness needed amid apparent USFK asset shift
Patriot and Terminal High Altitude Area Defense antimissile systems deployed with US Forces Korea appear to be bound for the Middle East.
"The USFK may dispatch some air defense systems abroad in accordance with its own military needs," President Lee Jae Myung said Tuesday. "While we have expressed opposition, the reality is that we cannot fully push through our position."
Frequent takeoffs and landings of large US military transport aircraft C-5 and C-17 at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, have fueled speculation that the relocation of US air-defense assets from South Korea to the Middle East is underway.
A C-17 reportedly carried two Patriot batteries to the Middle East in June last year during US strikes on Tehran’s nuclear facilities.
Citing two US officials, the Washington Post reported Monday that the Pentagon was moving parts of the THAAD system from South Korea to the Middle East. The system intercepts enemy missiles at higher altitudes than Patriots.
Patriot and THAAD batteries are central to the US-South Korea shield against North Korean ballistic missiles, so their withdrawal would carry serious security implications for Seoul.
The South Korean military also possesses Patriot batteries. But THAAD is the only high-altitude missile defense system deployed in the country and covers up to half of its territory.
L-SAM, South Korea’s THAAD-like interceptor designed to complement THAAD, is not expected to be deployed until next year.
If THAAD is withdrawn from the Korean Peninsula now, it would inevitably leave a gap in the multilayered missile defense against North Korea.
South Korea must strengthen its air defenses to offset the gap left by redeployed US assets by accelerating the deployment of homegrown interceptor missiles. Besides, it should devote full efforts to developing drone systems, which have proven highly cost-effective in the Middle East conflict.
Amid the Trump administration’s push for allies to shoulder more of their own defense, the redeployment of USFK assets is likely to become more frequent. The concern is that if the US-Iran war escalates into a prolonged conflict, the redeployed assets may not return in time. There is precedent: In 2004, a brigade from USFK’s 2nd Infantry Division deployed to Iraq and never returned, reducing the US troop presence in South Korea.
If redeployment is unavoidable, prior consultations should be institutionalized on replacement capabilities and return timelines to prevent security gaps.
Lee also said there was no cause for concern about South Korea’s defense, citing objective factors such as the country’s defense spending, the development of its defense industry and its global military ranking.
His remarks appear aimed at reassuring the public. But the public’s security concerns stem not so much from North Korea’s conventional forces as from its nuclear weapons.
South Korea already lacks sufficient means to counter North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats, and the prospect of those capabilities of its US alliance shrinking further is clearly worrying.
As the US military’s “strategic flexibility” becomes reality, strengthening the readiness of the South Korea-US alliance has become even more urgent.
However, the Lee administration has scaled back the 2026 Freedom Shield joint military exercise under the pretext of encouraging inter-Korean dialogue. The number of field training exercises involving actual troop movements was cut to 22 — less than half of last year’s 51 — reportedly at the request of the South Korean military. Reducing military training not only raises security concerns but also runs counter to Lee’s emphasis on self-reliant defense.
Alarmed by the US bombing of Iran and the removal of its supreme leader, North Korea is likely to cling even more tightly to its nuclear program, which is all the more reason to firmly uphold the nuclear deterrent. To this end, closer Seoul-Washington coordination and stronger South Korean defense capabilities will be needed.
khnews@heraldcorp.com
