The leadership of U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) has been increasingly explicit in recent weeks about the possibility of expanding its mission beyond the Korean Peninsula and North Korean threats, highlighting the strategic value of stationing a 28,500-strong military force on China’s doorstep as the Trump administration turns its focus to countering Beijing.

USFK Commander Gen. Xavier Brunson repeatedly emphasized the peninsula’s proximity to China at two recent events, while a USFK spokesperson acknowledged to NK News this week that the military force plays a broader role within Washington’s Indo-Pacific Strategy.