U.S. Army Gen. Xavier Brunson, commander of U.S. Forces Korea, speaks during a dinner commemorating the United States’ 250th anniversary at FKI Tower Conference Center in Seoul, South Korea, on Sept. 17, 2026. (Yoojin Lee/Stars and Stripes)
SEOUL, South Korea — The top U.S. military commander in South Korea emphasized the allies’ commitment to deterrence and combat readiness about a month after President Donald Trump ordered a sharp reduction in one of two major annual military exercises.
Army Gen. Xavier Brunson, commander of U.S. Forces Korea, said Thursday that USFK, United Nations Command and Combined Forces Command “remain fully committed to maintaining deterrence, sharpening joint readiness and securing peace across the peninsula, Northeast Asia and in this free and open Indo-Pacific.”
Brunson spoke at a dinner in Seoul commemorating the United States’ 250th anniversary, alongside former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Michelle Steel.
His remarks followed significant changes to Ulchi Freedom Shield, the annual summertime U.S.-South Korea exercise. The allies ended the training Aug. 21, six days earlier than its scheduled Aug. 27 conclusion, and reduced field training after Trump called for drills to be “substantially” scaled back.
Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice speaks during a dinner commemorating the United States’ 250th anniversary at FKI Tower Conference Center in Seoul, South Korea, on Sept. 17, 2026. (Yoojin Lee/Stars and Stripes)
Trump cited the cost of the exercises and his relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un when calling for the reductions.
The South Korean marine corps also announced last month that the U.S. military had canceled its participation in the biennial Ssangyong amphibious exercise, citing constraints on U.S. forces amid the conflict with Iran.
Brunson did not specifically address the reductions Thursday but said the U.S.-South Korea alliance had evolved from a “sacred bond forged on the battlefield and shared sacrifice.”
“For seven decades, no partnership has been more vital, more resilient” than the alliance between the two nations, he said.
The readiness message came amid continued North Korean missile activity.
Pyongyang fired two short-range ballistic missiles toward the Sea of Japan — also known as the East Sea — on Sunday, according to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Those launches came eight days after North Korea fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles that it later described as part of a coordinated firepower drill aimed at improving its ability to launch counterattacks.
U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Michelle Steel speaks during a dinner commemorating the United States’ 250th anniversary at FKI Tower Conference Center in Seoul, South Korea, on Sept. 17, 2026. (Yoojin Lee/Stars and Stripes)
Rice, who served as secretary of state from 2005 to 2009 and now directs Stanford University’s Hoover Institute, said the U.S.-South Korea relationship has expanded beyond security cooperation to encompass significant economic ties, while emphasizing that its military component remains central.
She pointed to potential conflict and nuclear proliferation among future security challenges in the region and said the allies would confront those challenges together.
Steel highlighted the role of U.S. troops stationed in South Korea, calling them the “foundation of our alliance.”
“Our shared sacrifice is not history,” she said. “It remains the bedrock of our alliance today.”
The dinner at the FKI Tower Conference Center brought together about 180 U.S. and South Korean political and business leaders, military personnel and Korean War veterans.
Trump nominated Steel, a Korean-American former member of Congress from California, as ambassador in April.