US military’s cyber unit plan threatens South Korea’s diplomatic balancing act

The potential deployment of an American army specialist unit capable of integrated operations across domains, including cyberspace, to South Korea could further reorient the US military’s role on the peninsula from deterring North Korea towards containing China, analysts say.

Recent reports that the Pentagon is considering moving elements of the Second Multi-Domain Task Force (MDTF), currently deployed in Germany, to South Korea have drawn attention to potential changes in the structure of the 28,500-strong US Forces Korea (USFK).

The deployment has not been officially confirmed, with the specific size and composition of the dispatch yet to be revealed. South Korea’s defence ministry declined to comment on the reports. This Week in Asia has also contacted the US Department of Defence.

The reports came after General Xavier Brunson, commander of the USFK and the Combined Forces Command, said last year he was considering introducing an MDTF to enhance situational awareness and intelligence capabilities.

Hundreds of troops are set to be deployed from the Second MDTF’s Multi-Domain Effects Battalion, which handles cyber, information and space operations, according to reports by The Wall Street Journal, Yonhap news agency and The Chosun Ilbo newspaper.