Gen. Xavier Brunson, commander of U.S. Forces Korea, walks after a breakfast meeting with Foreign Minister Cho Hyun and U.S. Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby at the Four Seasons Hotel in Seoul, Jan. 26. Yonhap
Gen. Xavier Brunson, commander of U.S. Forces Korea (USFK), reportedly apologized to Korean military officials for a recent West Sea air exercise that briefly brought U.S. and Chinese fighter jets into a tense encounter, according to news reports.
The Ministry of National Defense said Tuesday that parts of the media accounts were accurate but declined to provide further details, citing diplomatic sensitivity. The U.S. military also refused to confirm the reports.
The reports said USFK staged large-scale aerial maneuvers from Osan Air Base on Feb. 18 and 19, during which Chinese aircraft also scrambled, creating a temporary standoff over the West Sea.
Korean officials were said to have protested that the exercise plan had not been sufficiently shared in advance. Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back reportedly called Brunson on Feb. 19 to lodge a complaint.
Afterward, Brunson conveyed his apology and the drill, originally scheduled to run through last Saturday, was halted early on Feb. 19, according to the reports.
Defense ministry spokesperson Chung Binna confirmed to reporters that the phone call had taken place, but said that the ministry could not release details of the conversation. She added that disclosing content not agreed upon by the other party would be inappropriate, and said she understood some of the media reports to be true.
When contacted by The Korea Times, USFK declined to verify the reports, saying only, “We don’t publicly comment on senior leaders’ discussions.”
Source: Korea Times News
