On Wednesday, the US military launched a new unit of its space forces to South Korea that will help better detect North Korean ballistic missile launches.
A press release from the US Forces in South Korea (USFK) stated that this new unit would ensure “near-real-time detection and (alert) of North Korean missile launches”.
said the presenter. Joshua McCulleon, who will command the new space module.
He said his inauguration reinforces “unwavering commitment to the US-Korea alliance.”
Pyongyang has conducted a record series of weapons tests this year, including its new intercontinental ballistic missile, prompting the United States and Seoul to stage large-scale joint military exercises in response.
About 28,500 troops are stationed in South Korea by Washington to help protect it from the nuclear-armed North, with which the South is still technically at war. The 1950-1953 conflict ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty.
Former US President Donald Trump ordered the creation of the Space Force in 2018, arguing that the Pentagon needed it to address vulnerabilities in space and assert US dominance in orbit.
The new unit is one of the few the US Space Forces have deployed outside of the continental United States, such as Hawaii where the command opened in November.
The South Korean Air Force opened its own space squadron earlier this month, in a bid to boost coordination with Washington.
Despite repeated Security Council resolutions banning it from conducting ballistic missile tests, Pyongyang has confirmed that its weapons tests are a legitimate response to the measures taken by Washington to enhance the protection it guarantees to its allies in Seoul and Tokyo.
