Subscribe
E-Paper
 |
| President Moon Jae-in, second from left, shakes hands with Lt. Gen. Thomas W. Bergeson, commander of the Seventh Air Force, at a luncheon at Cheong Wa Dae in this Dec. 8, 2017 photo. Korea Times file |
By Jung Da-min
President Moon Jae-in has invited commanders of the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) and the South Korean military for talks at Cheong Wa Dae Tuesday, Moon's aides said Monday.
Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo, Republic of Korea Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Park Han-ki and new military leaders appointed last month ― South Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command (ROKUS CFC) deputy commander Gen. Choi Byung-hyuk, and the commanding generals of the Army (Lt. Gen. Suh Wook), Marine (Lt. Gen. Lee Seung-do) and Air Force (Lt. Gen. Won In-choul) ― as well as the Navy commander (Adm. Sim Seung-Seob) will participate from the South Korean side.
Representatives from the U.S. include USFK chief Gen. Robert Abrams, USFK Deputy Commander Lt. Gen. Kenneth S. Wilsbach, USFK Assistant Chief of Staff for Plans and Policy Maj. Gen. James W. Lukeman, Special Operations Command Korea Commander Maj. Gen. Tony D. Bauernfeind, and Eighth Army Deputy Commander Brig. Gen. Patrick J. Donahoe.
While it is rare for the commanding generals of the allies to be invited together to Cheong Wa Dae, the ministry said Monday that the luncheon would be a casual meeting for Moon to give a pep talk to the military leaders, stressing the importance of the alliance.
National Security Office director Chung Eui-yong, presidential chief of staff Noh Young-min and first deputy chief of the security office Kim You-geun, who previously served as commander of the Eighth Army Corps, will also attend the luncheon on Tuesday.
Moon invited top USFK commanders, including then-USFK chief Gen. Vincent Brooks, to Cheong Wa Dae last November.
In December 2017, Moon invited U.S. and Korean military commanders for a luncheon.
