US Military Creates New Space Force Unit in South Korea Amid North’s Threat

US Military Creates New Space Force Unit in South Korea Amid North’s Threat
Members of the newly activated U.S. Space Forces Korea (USSFK) stand in formation during the unit’s activation ceremony at Osan Air Base, Republic of Korea, on Dec. 14, 2022. Courtesy of Staff Sgt. Skyler Combs via U.S. Space Forces Korea
Lorenz Duchamps
Updated:
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The U.S. Space Forces Korea (USSFK) has formed a unit in South Korea as the two allied nations seek to further synchronize space operations in the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command region, the agency has announced.

In a Dec. 14 statement, the USSFK said Lt. Col. Joshua McCullion will lead the new program, which is a subordinate unit to the U.S. Space Forces (USSF) Indo-Pacific. The team will be tasked with monitoring, detecting, and tracking incoming missiles, as well as bolstering the military’s overall space capability.

In 2019, then-President Donald Trump launched the USSF as the first new U.S. military service in more than 70 years.

“Today marks the next milestone in strengthening our ironclad commitment to the U.S.–Korean alliance,” McCullion said during a Dec. 14 event at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, South Korea.

“Our U.S. and Republic of Korea alliance was forged more than 70 years ago, as we stood shoulder-to-shoulder in war. With the world around us evolving, so, too, must we.”

U.S. Army Gen. Paul LaCamera (R) passes the U.S. Space Forces Korea (USSFK) guidon to U.S. Space Force (USSF) Lt. Col. Joshua McCullion (L), USSFK inaugural commander, during the unit’s activation ceremony at Osan Air Base, Republic of Korea, on Dec. 14, 2022. (Courtesy of Staff Sgt. Skyler Combs via U.S. Space Forces Korea)
U.S. Army Gen. Paul LaCamera (R) passes the U.S. Space Forces Korea (USSFK) guidon to U.S. Space Force (USSF) Lt. Col. Joshua McCullion (L), USSFK inaugural commander, during the unit’s activation ceremony at Osan Air Base, Republic of Korea, on Dec. 14, 2022. Courtesy of Staff Sgt. Skyler Combs via U.S. Space Forces Korea

The USSFK will be the first-of-its-kind facility headquartered on foreign soil and the second such command established within the Indo-Pacific Command area.

The unit is a subordinate of a larger USSF command that was launched within the Indo-Pacific Command region in Hawaii on Nov. 22 with the goal of managing military space operations across the area, as well as deterring aggression in the region as tensions with China and North Korea continue to rise.

“Without a doubt, the United States’ ability to synchronize in all domains is unparalleled,” USSF Brig. Gen. Anthony Mastalir said during the Dec. 14 event. Mastalir, who’s the commander of USSF’s command headquartered in Hawaii, said the USSFK is ready to counter any threat in the region.

U.S. Army Gen. Paul LaCamera, who presided over the ceremony, noted that the unit in South Korea will further enhance the U.S. ability to defend the mainland while ensuring “peace and security on the Korean peninsula and in Northeast Asia.”

“The U.S. military is faster, better connected, more informed, precise, and lethal because of space,” LaCamera said.

U.S. Army Gen. Paul LaCamera speaks during the U.S. Space Forces Korea (USSFK) activation ceremony at Osan Air Base, Republic of Korea, on Dec. 14, 2022. (Courtesy of Staff Sgt. Skyler Combs via U.S. Space Forces Korea)
U.S. Army Gen. Paul LaCamera speaks during the U.S. Space Forces Korea (USSFK) activation ceremony at Osan Air Base, Republic of Korea, on Dec. 14, 2022. Courtesy of Staff Sgt. Skyler Combs via U.S. Space Forces Korea

The USSFK was launched as North Korea test-fired a barrage of nuclear-capable ballistic missiles in recent months that were designed to strike U.S. grounds and those of its allies, South Korea and Japan.

“Just 48 miles north of us exists an existential threat; a threat that we must be prepared to deter, defend against, and—if required—defeat,” McCullion said, apparently referring to North Korea, whose heavily fortified border with South Korea is just an hour’s drive from Seoul, the South Korean capital.

Jung Chang Wook, head of the Korea Defense Study Forum think tank in Seoul, said the USSF was created to bring together diverse surveillance assets, including space-based satellites in one organization to manage and develop them in an effective, systemic manner. He said its unit in South Korea would work like a field unit while the other in the Indo-Pacific Command would be its headquarters.

“The U.S. Space Forces Korea would maintain, operate, and asses related equipment. Simply speaking, I would say the actual U.S. space operations will be done at Osan Air Base,” Jung said.

He said the main role of USSFK would be receiving, processing, and analyzing the tremendous amount of data and information transmitted by U.S. satellites.

Jung said the launch of a space unit in South Korea was likely primarily aimed at better surveilling North Korea, as well as China and Russia.

The United States and South Korea have expanded their regular military drills and pushed to further bolster their combined defense capability in the face of North Korea’s advancing nuclear program. North Korea has threatened to use nuclear weapons preemptively in potential conflicts with the United States and South Korea, and the U.S. military warned North Korea that the use of nuclear weapons “will result in the end of that regime.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Lorenz Duchamps
Lorenz Duchamps
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Lorenz Duchamps is a news writer for NTD, The Epoch Times’ sister media, focusing primarily on the United States, world, and entertainment news.
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