The commanding general of the U.S. Eighth Army said his troops are continuing to build and maintain combat readiness on the Korean peninsula, despite President Trump’s skepticism about America’s military footprint in South Korea.
Speaking at this year’s Association of the U.S. Army conference in Washington, Lt. Gen. Joseph E. Hilbert said Korea-based Army Apache helicopters were at gunnery training two weeks ago while the 2nd Infantry Division is continuing to rotate troops through the ranges.
“We continue to train on the peninsula. We continue to train with the Koreans,” he said. “We’ll continue to build readiness for U.S. forces on the peninsula.”
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The Eighth Army oversees all U.S. Army troops in Korea. It is a field army headquarters that falls under U.S. Army Pacific and U.S. Forces Korea.
The financial cost of keeping about 28,000 American troops in South Korea is one of Mr. Trump’s biggest objections to the long-standing arrangement between the two allies. He has repeatedly characterized South Korea as a “freeloader” relying on the U.S. for national security without paying its fair share.
Mr. Trump was also frustrated by South Korea’s refusal to participate in Operation Epic Fury, the U.S. and Israeli air campaign against Iran. He ordered a substantial reduction in the joint U.S.-South Korean Ulchi Freedom Shield military exercises in August. They were cut short from 11 days to 5 days.
“That was a bespoke time for a specific exercise,” Gen. Hilbert told reporters. “We will continue to train and build readiness of the U.S. forces on the peninsula.”
While Eighth Army’s focus is on the defense of Seoul, Gen. Hilbert told reporters they are continuing to keep an eye on other developments in the region.
“It would be irresponsible for us to look actively at that threat alone,” he said. “We can take that force, and we can apply it against whatever threat we need to, based on the requirements of our national command authority.”
Analysts say North Korea has sent 14,000 to 20,000 soldiers to Russia since 2024 to support Moscow’s ongoing war against Ukraine.
“They are bringing experience back to them from Ukraine. Just as we are all observing and watching how the war is changing in Ukraine and the Middle East, the North Koreans are absolutely doing that, too,” Gen. Hilbert said. “We pay attention to that, and we work to stay ahead.”
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