ROK/US Combined Forces Command

April 19, 2023 | David Maxwell, Mathew Ha

The Biden-Yoon Summit: An Opportunity To Chart A New Alliance Course

It is time for the U.S. and its ally South Korea to execute a political warfare strategy that flips the conventional wisdom.

January 23, 2023 | Robert Joseph, Robert Collins, Joseph DeTrani, Nicholas Eberstadt, Olivia Enos, David Maxwell, Greg Scarlatoiu

National Strategy for Countering North Korea

Excerpt Since the emergence of the nuclear threat from North Korea in the early 1990s, the primary objective of U.S. policy has been to convince Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear weapons program.  While...

March 28, 2022 | David Maxwell |

How To Respond To North Korea’s ICBM Test

On March 24, North Korea possibly tested its new Hwasong-17 Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM). Kim Jong-un broke part of his self-imposed moratorium on ICBM (and nuclear) tests that he promised...

June 3, 2021 | David Maxwell |

The North Korea Threat Is Growing. U.S.-South Korea Military Training Must Press Forward.

Following the successful Joe Biden-Moon Jae-in summit on May 21, 2021, the Moon administration began backsliding on alliance commitments to military readiness. Specifically, President Moon said COVID-19...

March 10, 2021 | David Maxwell |

The U.S. Military And South Korea Must Train To Deter North Korea

ROK/U.S. combined training – routine but necessary defensive exercises – is described in the media in various ways that causes confusion among the public. With the start of the annual computer simulation...

January 7, 2021 | David Maxwell, Mathew Ha

Opening of Eighth Party Congress Shows Kim Jong Un Stays True to His Roots

North Korea’s ruling Korean Workers’ Party kicked off its Eighth Party Congress on Wednesday. This periodic meeting seeks to outline the North Korean government’s strategic objectives for a broad...

September 5, 2020 | David Maxwell |

ROK/US combined training protects integrity of the OPCON transition process

The ROK/U.S. Combined Forces Command (ROK/U.S. CFC) completed its first theater-level training in more than a year on Aug. 28. An assessment of initial open-source reporting suggests that the recent training...

March 27, 2020 | David Maxwell, Mathew Ha

Coronavirus may force ROK/U.S. military alliance to contend with North Korean instability

North Korea continues to deny that it is affected by the coronavirus. Yet all indications are that there is an outbreak in the North, though the extent of it is unknown. Such an outbreak can have severe...

December 5, 2019 | Bradley Bowman, David Maxwell

North Korean Threat Requires New U.S. Pressure Campaign Targeting Pyongyang

“Maximum pressure 2.0” campaign employing all tools of national power “likely represents the only way to denuclearize North Korea without resorting to war,” new think tank report finds. Includes...

November 15, 2019 | David Maxwell |

U.S.-ROK Relations

An Ironclad Alliance or a Transactional House of Cards?

May 17, 2019 | David Maxwell |

Plan to Move ROK/U.S. Combined Forces Command will Challenge the Alliance

Gen. Robert Abrams, the commander of the ROK/U.S. Combined Forces Command (CFC), has proposed relocating CFC fro...

October 31, 2018 | David Maxwell, Mathew Ha

At the Latest Inter-Korean Summit, Kim Jong-Un Created a Diplomatic Minefield for the United States

According to recent reports, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo strongly protested the outcome of September’s inter-Korean summit in Pyongyang. One source told the South Korean paper Chosun Ilbo that...

August 27, 2018 | David Maxwell |

U.S. Commander in Korea Determined to Maintain Readiness Despite Suspended Exercises

The commander of the ROK/U.S. Combined Forces Command, Gen. Vincent Brooks, told...