U.S. Army Gen. Xavier Brunson, commander of U.S. Forces Korea, poses with South Korean Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back at Camp Humphreys, South Korea, Jan. 6, 2026. (Daniela Lechuga/U.S. Army)
U.S. Forces Korea said Wednesday that it notified South Korea ahead of an Air Force exercise last week, but acknowledged that senior South Korean military leaders were apparently not briefed before the flights took place.
The statement follows unconfirmed South Korean media reports that U.S. F-16 Fighting Falcons briefly encountered Chinese aircraft during that training over the Yellow Sea on Feb. 18.
South Korean Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back lodged a complaint the following day with Army Gen. Xavier Brunson, commander of USFK, according to a Monday report by Yonhap News Agency, which cited unnamed military sources.
Yonhap reported that Ahn expressed concern that the U.S. command had not shared information about the exercise in advance.
USFK addressed the report in a statement to Stars and Stripes.
“Gen. Xavier Brunson spoke directly with the Minister of National Defense to reiterate that notification had been provided to the [South Korean] side and expressed regret that [the minister] and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff were not briefed in time,” said the statement texted Wednesday by USFK spokesman David Kim.
The statement did not specify when Brunson spoke with Ahn.
“U.S. Forces Korea conducts regular training to maintain the highest level of readiness and ensure it can fulfill its mission,” the statement said. “We don’t make apologies for maintaining readiness.”
According to Yonhap, about 10 U.S. F-16s were training over the Yellow Sea when they entered an area between the air defense identification zones of South Korea and China. The U.S. contingent briefly encountered Chinese fighters, a rare occurrence.
The Chinese military “responded very quickly” to the U.S. fighters, demonstrating that the [army] “‘stands ready at all times’ and the combat readiness string is pulled even tighter during holidays,” China’s state-run Global Times reported Friday. The outlet said the incident occurred during on the second day of the Lunar New Year holiday that began Feb. 17.
No U.S. command — from the Pentagon to the 51st Fighter Wing at Osan Air Base, South Korea — has publicly confirmed the reported aircraft encounter.
The allies are scheduled to hold one of their largest annual exercises, Freedom Shield, from March 9 to 19, officials said Wednesday at a press briefing in Seoul.
The exercise will include field training drills dubbed Warrior Shield, according to South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff spokesman Col. Jang Do-young and USFK spokesman Col. Ryan Donald.
Freedom Shield and Warrior Shield will be a “major defensive oriented exercise” with “tough, realistic, demanding” training, Donald said.
Neither country’s military typically discloses which units are involved or where training will take place ahead of the exercise.
Freedom Shield will be an opportunity to “further strengthen our readiness and capabilities through combined, joint, all-domain operations” and “to support ongoing preparations for a conditions-based wartime operational transition, consistent with alliance agreement,” the spokesmen said.
The exercise will include scenarios aimed at deterring a North Korean nuclear threat, Jang said. He declined to provide further details, citing operational security.
Several United Nations countries will participate in the exercise, though the spokesmen did not name them.
The Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission will observe the exercise to ensure compliance with the armistice agreement that ended the 1950-53 Korean War, the officials said.
