U.S. Military Chief to Visit S.Korea This Month

Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley will visit South Korea and Japan late this month before he retires this year, a military source said on Monday.

He wants to stress the importance of tripartite cooperation between Korea, the U.S. and Japan and send a warning message to North Korea.

The U.S.' highest-ranking military officer last visited Korea in 2021.

Milley will arrive here from Japan right after joint South Korea-U.S. exercises dubbed Freedom Shield on March 13-23. He is expected to review the drills with Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup and his Korean counterpart Gen. Kim Seung-kyum.

He will also visit the demilitarized zone.

The U.S. has been sending more strategic weapons to South Korea in the face of increasing provocations by North Korea including a possible fresh nuclear test.