Acting President Choi Sang-mok, center, visits CP Tango, a key U.S.-controlled wartime command bunker complex in Seongnam, March 18. Courtesy of Ministry of Economy and Finance Acting President Choi Sang-mok stressed the importance of maintaining a strong joint defense posture Tuesday while making a visit to a command post of the South Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command currently undergoing an annual springtime joint military exercise. Choi visited the Command Post Theater Air Naval Ground Operations (CP Tango) in Seongnam, just south of Seoul, to inspect the Freedom Shield exercises, set to finish Thursday following an 11-day run, and encourage South Korean and U.S. military officers, according to his office. "Joint exercises and drills are the symbol of the strong combined defense posture and are essential for enhancing deterrence against North Korea," he said. "The CP Tango is well-equipped with facilities for commanding and controlling the South Korean and U.S. Army, Navy and Air Force assets ... and seeing South Korean and U.S. service members working side by side, I can truly feel the strength of the South Korea-U.S. alliance," he added. Choi also highlighted that the alliance has played a crucial role in South Korea's development from the ashes of the 1950-53 Korean War to become a donor nation providing assistance to other countries, the finance ministry said. During the visit, Gen. Xavier Brunson, Commander of the United Nations Command, Combined Forces Command and U.S. Forces Korea (USFK), welcomed Choi and provided a mission briefing, the USFK said in a separate release. "By building readiness, training, and interoperability through exercises like Freedom Shield 25, we ensure we are fully prepared to deter aggression and, if necessary, defeat any adversary," Brunson was quoted as saying. (Yonhap)
