Yoon to visit Indo-Pacific Command in Hawaii
By Kim Eun-jung
HONOLULU, July 9 (Yonhap) -- President Yoon Suk Yeol is set to visit U.S. Indo-Pacific Command in Hawaii on Tuesday as part of his trip to the United States focused on bolstering South Korea's security against North Korea's military threats.
Yoon will receive a security briefing from Adm. Samuel Paparo, commander of Indo-Pacific Command, Gen. Paul LaCamera, commander of U.S. Forces Korea, and other U.S. military leaders.
The U.S. military's largest combatant command oversees U.S. Forces Korea, which maintains about 28,500 troops in South Korea as a deterrent against North Korea.
It marks the first such visit to the command by a South Korean president in 29 years and the first since it was renamed to USINDOPACOM in 2018.
Currently, the Rim of the Pacific Exercise (RIMPAC), a U.S.-led joint maritime exercise, is under way around the Hawaiian Islands. The drills, involving South Korea and 28 other countries, began June 26 and will continue until Aug. 29.
Later in the day, Yoon will head to Washington to attend a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit on Wednesday and Thursday.
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