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"After the North's attack on the Cheonan last year, Gen. Walter Sharp, the commander of the U.S. Forces Korea, expressed concerns about our military's increase of firepower near the demilitarized zone," the government source said. "Since the start of this year, the U.S. has asked officially and unofficially for explanations of the military's aggressive deterrence strategy against the North."

Saying “there is no reason to have a curfew,” the commander of U.S. troops in South Korea will end an almost 9-year-old curfew on the peninsula Friday, the start of Fourth of July weekend. “I believe that we can trust our servicemembers to do the right thing,” U.S. Forces Korea commander Gen. Walter Sharp said in an interview Monday. “I personally believe in personal responsibility and making that the top thing that we do with our servicemembers, rather than trying to impose restrictions on them because of the acts of very, very few.” Local commanders will be allowed to impose...

U.S. Forces on Korean Peninsula Reject China's Criticism of Maritime Exercises with S.Korea Commander of U.S. forces in South Korea, General Walter Sharp The leader of U.S. forces on the Korean Peninsula rejects China's criticism of maritime exercises planned with South Korea. But the top American general in South Korea asks Beijing to work more closely with Washington and Seoul to deter the North Korean threat. The commander of U.S. forces in South Korea, General Walter Sharp, says every nation, within its territorial limits, is obligated to train its forces against perceived threats. "South Korea has that right. And South...

US forces will regain control over a major annual military exercise with South Korea amid rising tensions with the North following the sinking of one of Seoul's warships, officials said on Thursday. Seoul's defence ministry said the Combined Forces Command led by US General Walter Sharp will retake control of the computerised war game called Ulchi Freedom Guardian (UFG) from this year. In 2008 and last year the South's military took control of the exercise, to prepare for a scheduled transfer of wartime command in the military alliance. UFG, which is due to start in mid-August, is the world's largest...

U.S. Forces Korea Commander Gen. Walter Sharp has warned of sudden regime collapse in North Korea and called for urgent preparation for such an eventuality. Sharp was speaking at a subcommittee hearing of the U.S. House Appropriations Committee on Wednesday. "We would also be mindful of the potential for instability in North Korea," he said. "Combined with the country's disastrous centralized economy, dilapidated industrial sector, insufficient agricultural base, malnourished military and populace, and developing nuclear programs, the possibility of a sudden leadership change in the North could be destabilizing and unpredictable." South Korea and the U.S. are ready for any...

The top American military officer here has proposed that South Korea buy a key U.S. underground command bunker on the outskirts of Seoul, as his troops will move to an area south of the Han River, relinquishing wartime operational control to Korean commanders, a source at the Combined Forces Command (CFC) said Sunday. CFC Commander Gen. Walter Sharp, who concurrently heads the 28,000-strong U.S. Forces Korea (USFK), made the proposal to South Korea during the Key Resolve command-post exercise that ended Thursday, the source told The Korea Times. The Ministry of National Defense is reviewing the offer but has yet...

North Korea is increasingly focused on cyber warfare, improvised explosives and missile technology as the regime fears it would be defeated in a direct confrontation with US and South Korean forces, a US commander said on Tuesday. The emphasis on unconventional methods comes amid signs North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il appears to be firmly "in charge" and in decent health, General Walter Sharp, commander of US forces in Korea, told reporters on Tuesday. "I think the North Koreans probably realized they could not win in a normal conventional all-out attack," Sharp said. Given the strength of South Korean and US...