Incoming USFK commander calls for continued U.S. nuclear umbrella for S. Korea

Incoming USFK commander calls for continued U.S. nuclear umbrella for S. Korea. April. 21, 2016 07:23. by 워싱턴=이승헌 특파원ddr@donga.com. Gen. Vincent Brooks, the incoming commander of the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK), told a U.S. Senate hearing on Tuesday (local time) that it was very important for his country to provide "nuclear umbrella" protection, or extended deterrence, to South Korea in order to counter nuclear and missile threats from North Korea. He added that its removal could prompt Seoul to consider developing its own nuclear armament in the face of the threats from North Korea.

He told a Senate Armed Services Committee confirmation hearing that he did not think Seoul would pursue nuclear armament and that his country is pursuing a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula. With regards to U.S. Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump’s argument that South Korea and Japan should arm themselves with nuclear weapons, the general made the remarks to stress that the U.S. nuclear protection of South Korea will be maintained.

“The Republic of Korea is carrying a significant load and is dedicated to our presence there,” he said, rebutting Trump’s claim that South Korea was “free-riding” on defense. He added that Seoul is “paying about 50 percent of our personnel cost of being there” and funding 92 percent of the cost for a massive $10.8 billion project to relocate U.S. troops further south. He called the relocation project the “largest DOD (Department of Defense) construction project we have anywhere in the world.” When Sen. John McCain, the committee chairman, asked if it would cost more to keep those troops stationed in the U.S. than it would be in Korea, Brook said, "Absolutely."

Asked about the possibility of North Korea’s future provocations, Brooks said that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un seems to be “more risk-tolerant, arrogant, and impulsive than his father.” The general added that he takes seriously the direction and situation in which the Kim Jong Un regime is going unchecked.

Brooks, who will be the first African-American officer to command USFK if confirmed, graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1980, where he became the first African-American brigade commander or “first captain” of cadets. He also served in the USFK in 1981 and 1982 and as a USFK brigade commander from 1996 to 1998.