Gen. Xavier Brunson, left, commander of the South Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command and commander of U.S. Forces Korea, salutes during a ceremonial event marking his assumption of command at the Ministry of National Defense in Seoul, Jan. 9, 2025. Korea Times photo by Wang Tae-seog
North Korea on Wednesday criticized a recent remark by the commander of U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) likening South Korea to a "dagger" aimed at China, warning that such an approach toward Beijing would only spur greater cooperation among countries in the region to counter Washington.
The Korean Central News Agency carried a commentary by an international relations critic after USFK Commander Gen. Xavier Brunson called South Korea a "dagger in the heart of Asia" seen from China's east coast in a podcast interview Friday.
"His assertion served as an occasion of revealing once again the position of the ROK as an advanced base for carrying out the U.S. Indo-Pacific Strategy," the English version of the commentary read. The ROK is short for South Korea's official name, the Republic of Korea.
His remarks "clearly show the vicious appearance of the U.S. as the chieftain of harassing peace and the world's worst war empire, which has regarded the Korean Peninsula and its vicinity as the main battlefield for camp confrontation and new Cold War," it said.
