WASHINGTON — 

The US military stationed in South Korea officially established a space force branch on Wednesday (December 14) to better monitor the movements of China and Russia while effectively responding to North Korean military threats.


The inauguration ceremony of the U.S. Space Force in South Korea was held at the Osan Air Force Base in South Korea. This is a large air base jointly used by the U.S. Air Force and the South Korean Air Force. It is very close to Seoul, the capital of South Korea. In the months leading up to the creation of the Space Force, North Korea has been testing various types of ballistic missiles, including intercontinental ballistic missiles that it claims can reach the continental United States.


There have been persistent rumors that Pyongyang is preparing for a new nuclear weapons test.


"There is a real threat 48 miles north from us, one that we must be prepared to deter, defend against, and, if necessary, defeat," said Joshua Macallan, commander of the newly formed Space Force force. Joshua McCallion, speaking at a ceremony in Osan.


South Korea’s neighbor to the north is North Korea. The South Korean capital, Seoul, is only an hour’s drive away from the 38th parallel at the junction of North and South Korea, where the military confrontation is the most serious in the world.


The U.S. Space Force in Korea is part of the U.S. Space Force established in 2019 under former President Trump. The Space Force is also the first new branch of the U.S. armed forces in more than 70 years.


The main purpose of the U.S. Space Force is to protect U.S. assets in space, especially satellites used for civil and military navigation, intelligence gathering, and communications. The Pentagon once reported that both China and Russia are working hard to develop technologies that can damage or destroy satellites of the United States and its allies in times of crisis or conflict.


The newly established U.S. Space Force in South Korea is directly subordinate to the Space Force stationed in Hawaii. This space force, which is deployed within the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, was established last month.


The South Korean Air Force also established a space force earlier this month to work with the U.S. Space Force to improve its space operations.


In addition to repeated warnings about the North Korean threat, U.S. officials have expressed concern about Chinese and Russian activities in space, including China's development of hypersonic weapons and Russia's development of anti-satellite weapons.


The Chinese government has repeatedly warned Seoul not to participate in the U.S.-led global missile defense system and has frequently criticized the U.S. THAAD anti-missile system in South Korea.


However, South Korea's Ministry of National Defense said that the addition of space forces by the US military in South Korea has nothing to do with South Korea's participation in the current missile defense system.


The Associated Press quoted a defense expert from a think tank in Seoul as saying that the establishment of the U.S. Space Force is to integrate various intelligence-gathering assets, including satellites, into a more systematic and Effective way of management and application. The expert believes that the space force of the US military stationed in South Korea will receive, process, and analyze a large amount of data and information from US satellites at Osan Air Force Base, just like the vanguard troops stationed on the front line. The Space Force within the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command in Hawaii serves as its headquarters.


"It is because of space that the U.S. military can be connected faster, better, and more lethal," said Gen. Paul LaCamera, commander of U.S. Forces Korea in the U.S. Speaking at the inauguration ceremony. "Specifically, the establishment of the U.S. Forces Korea Space Force here today ... strengthens our ability to defend our homeland and ensure peace and security on the Korean Peninsula and Northeast Asia."


There are 28,500 U.S. troops stationed in South Korea. The Korean peninsula is technically still at war since the Korean War in 1953 when an armistice rather than a peace agreement was reached, and the United States, which commanded United Nations forces in the Korean War, has been relying on a mutual defense treaty with South Korea since the armistice on the peninsula Garrison in South Korea.


In the face of Pyongyang's persistent ballistic missile and nuclear weapons threats, the United States and South Korea have expanded the intensity and scale of bilateral joint military exercises this year, while enhancing their defensive combat capabilities. North Korea has repeatedly stated that it would not hesitate to use nuclear weapons to carry out pre-emptive strikes in the event of a conflict with the United States and South Korea. The U.S. military has warned that if Pyongyang uses nuclear weapons, it will mean the end of the North Korean regime.