Chief of US Strategic Command visits South Korea amid joint military drills

The commander of a key US military unit in charge of overseeing the country's nuclear arsenal visited South Korea on August 29 to reaffirm America's "ironclad" commitment to its ally, the US Forces Korea (USFK) said, amid ongoing major military drills between the allies.

Gen. Anthony J. Cotton, chief of the US Strategic Command, arrived in South Korea earlier in the day as the allies have been staging the annual Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS) exercise since August 21 to strengthen the combined defence posture, Yonhap reports.

Cotton met with US Ambassador to Seoul Philip Goldberg and discussed South Korea's role for peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and in the Indo-Pacific region.

He later visited CP Tango, a key US-controlled wartime command bunker complex, to meet USFK Commander Gen. Paul LaCamera, where he was briefed on the ongoing UFS.

During his trip, Cotton will meet with senior South Korean officials to discuss ways the two sides can contribute to the stability of the Indo-Pacific region as discussed in the Washington Declaration issued by the two countries in April and a recent trilateral summit between the leaders of South Korea, the US and Japan, according to the USFK.

On August 18, President Yoon Suk Yeol, US President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida met at the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland, where they adopted a series of documents that outlined their commitments to enhance security and economic cooperation, such as launching an annual Trilateral Indo-Pacific Dialogue.

It marks Cotton's first visit to the Western Pacific region since taking office in December last year, according to the USFK.