Overview
- Gen. Xavier Brunson used a USFK essay to urge rotating regional maps 90 degrees to place east at the top, arguing it reveals U.S. and allied advantages.
- His concept presents U.S. troops in South Korea as already inside the crisis perimeter, citing distances from Camp Humphreys to Pyongyang, Beijing and Vladivostok.
- He highlights a strategic triangle linking South Korea, Japan and the Philippines, with complementary capabilities across central depth, maritime reach and key sea lanes.
- A Korea Times editorial via Yonhap says the framing pressures Seoul to embrace strategic flexibility and a broader regional defense role.
- Coverage connects the debate to the recent U.S.–South Korea fact sheet that raises Seoul’s defense spending to 3.5% of GDP and pledges 47 trillion won for USFK through 2035, while North Korea denounces the pact and warns about a ‘nuclear domino’ tied to Seoul’s nuclear-powered submarine plans; analysts call the map idea striking but possibly short-lived as doctrine.