USFK Announces Deployment of Patriot Missile Batteries to the Middle East
Remember the talk of “strategic flexibility” for USFK? Well this is what that looks like:
South Korea and the United States have recently agreed on a plan to temporarily deploy Patriot missile defense batteries from the South to the Middle East, sources said Friday, amid speculation over a potential shift in the role of the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK).
The allies agreed last month on the “monthslong” partial deployment of the Patriot Advanced Capability-3, the first known case involving the relocation of USFK assets to the Middle East, according to the sources.
The missiles work alongside South Korea’s own air defense assets in a multilayered missile defense system against North Korea’s missile and nuclear threats, according to the sources.
The rare move comes after U.S. broadcaster NBC News reported last week that U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has authorized at least two Patriot missile defense batteries from Asia to be moved to the Middle East as the U.S. takes military action against Yemen’s Houthi rebels.
You can read more at the link, but does this become the new normal for USFK where units are regularly deployed off the peninsula to respond to needs elsewhere in the world?
In a major escalation cycle with Iran for the past few months.