**Full Commentary by Kim Hyuk-nam on Chosun Central News Agency: “Obsolete Foundations Will Lead to the Decline of Power”**
A recent report from Chosun Central News Agency featured a commentary under the personal pseudonym of Kim Hyuk-nam, which criticized the discussion of the strategic flexibility of US troops in South Korea, labeling it as “anachronistic.”
Kim Hyuk-nam argued that this concept was devised under the pretext of swiftly responding to uncertain security threats in any region of the world following the end of the Cold War. He described it as a deeply rooted doctrine of American aggression, masked with the guise of flexibility and evolving malignantly.
Furthermore, he claimed that the strategic flexibility of US troops in South Korea was formalizing their transformation into a regional mobile force, directly deploying them into disputes and battlefields in the Asia-Pacific region.
He warned that as soon as strategic flexibility, fueled by hegemonic ambitions, is set in motion, it is clear as day that it will ignite conflict elements latent in the Northeast Asian region, leading to a massive chain explosion.
Moreover, he stated that if US troop expansion into major areas through strategic flexibility becomes a reality, South Korea will become the most effective frontline base. He noted that under the dependent structure of the South Korea-US alliance, the participation of South Korean forces would be inevitable.
Additionally, he emphasized that the current reckless provocations with the emergence of the present US administration highlight the necessity and urgency for North Korea to build and execute overwhelming and proactive deterrence and strong warning actions.
He concluded by asserting that the strategic flexibility of US troops in South Korea, based on the outdated theory of omnipotent power, will lead only to unavoidable strategic isolation and an irreversible decline of power.
Previously, on June 11th, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced that the new US National Defense Strategy, to be released this summer, will include elements focusing on the Indo-Pacific region to counteract China, and elements that expand allied countries’ security burdens.
As a result, there are anticipations that the new NDS might include demands for increased defense spending for South Korea and maintain a stance on the strategic flexibility of US troops in South Korea.