On Tuesday, North Korea condemned discussions in the United States about expanding the operational scope of U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) through strategic flexibility as an aggressive attempt by the U.S. to maintain regional hegemony.
North Korea’s state-run media, the Korean Central News Agency, reported this claim through a commentary by an individual using the pen name Kim Hyuk Nam, stating that the strategic flexibility of USFK is anachronistic and resembles America’s deeply rooted invasion doctrine, which has maliciously evolved under the guise of flexibility.
Kim emphasized that the U.S. has formalized its intention to transform USFK into a regional mobile force, directly engaging in conflicts and battlefields in the Asia-Pacific region. He warned that the moment this strategy, fueled by hegemonic ambitions, is set in motion, it will ignite various potential conflict elements in Northeast Asia, leading to a massive chain reaction of explosions.
He also claimed that if USFK’s expansion into key areas materializes, South Korea will become the most effective forward base. Kim argued that the participation of South Korean military forces, entangled in the subordinate structure of the U.S.-South Korea alliance, would be inevitable.
Furthermore, Kim justified the enhancement of North Korea’s defense capabilities, stating that the increasingly reckless and provocative actions of adversaries since the current U.S. administration took office underscore the necessity and urgency for them to renew and build the most overwhelming and aggressive deterrent capabilities and to execute strong, action-based warnings.
On June 11, U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced that the new National Defense Strategy (NDS) will explicitly include elements emphasizing the Indo-Pacific focus for countering China and expanding security responsibilities of allied nations. Analysts speculate that the new NDS may contain calls for increased defense spending related to South Korea and a renewed focus on the strategic flexibility of USFK.