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[Herald Economy=Reporter Seok Kyung-won] J.B. Brunson, commander of U.S. Forces Korea, triggered controversy after saying that, from China\u2019s perspective, Korea \u201clooks like a dagger.\u201d He later offered a public clarification, but the South Korean government has effectively registered its regret.<\/p>\n
On the 30th, the Blue House said that National Security Office Director Wi Seong-rak, together with the Defense and Foreign ministries, conveyed Seoul\u2019s position on Brunson\u2019s remarks to U.S. counterparts through diplomatic and security channels.<\/p>\n
The government is believed to have used those channels to express regret and concern to both the U.S. government and Brunson\u2019s office, and to request restraint.<\/p>\n
A Blue House official would not confirm the specific contents of consultations conducted via those channels, but said the administration was aware of Brunson\u2019s recent public statements and that officials at multiple levels have been communicating on related issues.<\/p>\n
On the 22nd, Brunson appeared on a podcast hosted by the U.S. Army War College and said, \u201cWhen they (China) look from their east coast, what they see is Korea \u2014 a dagger at the heart of Asia \u2014 and Japan, which serves as a kind of shield and, when they try to project beyond the South China Sea, acts like a bulwark.\u201d<\/p>\n
In May of last year, he also described Korea\u2019s geographic position as strategically important, likening it to an island floating between Japan and mainland China or to a fixed aircraft carrier.<\/p>\n
Analysts interpreted Brunson\u2019s \u201cdagger\u201d remark as reflecting the U.S. view of Korea\u2019s strategic value in countering China.<\/p>\n
Critics, however, said the comments were inappropriate because they emphasized only the U.S. perspective rather than South Korea\u2019s sovereign strategic judgment or Seoul\u2013Beijing relations.<\/p>\n
The Chinese Embassy in South Korea pushed back, accusing Brunson of portraying South Korea and U.S. forces on the peninsula as a \u201cforward base\u201d aimed at China, and through some Korean media saying, \u201cYour remarks clearly crossed the line.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bu Seung-chan, spokesman for the ruling Democratic Party, issued a statement expressing regret over Brunson\u2019s remarks, saying they \u201carbitrarily defined the Republic of Korea\u2019s strategic standing, infringed on our people\u2019s sovereignty and even created diplomatic tension,\u201d and stressing that \u201cthe Republic of Korea\u2019s foreign and security policies are decided only by its sovereign people.\u201d<\/p>\n
He also criticized China\u2019s response, saying, \u201cThe Chinese government\u2019s decision to criticize the U.S. through its embassy in Korea and to target Korean media is not appropriate. While it is clear the remarks were aimed at China, attempting to pull Korean public opinion into this dispute falls short of the diplomatic restraint expected of a neighboring country.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
USFK Commander Brunson’s remarks on Korea sparked controversy, prompting a response from the South Korean government expressing concerns.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_thumbnail_url":"https:\/\/cdn-union.tenbizt.com\/contents\/crawler-dev\/thumbnail\/2026\/05\/CP-2023-0083\/thumb-11d8646a-8b2b-44f7-8046-9326d4378c23.jpg","footnotes":""},"categories":[278093],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-262826","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"\n