SEOUL– President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol was en route to the U.S. military base Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek on Thursday, his spokesperson said, as tensions have been running high over North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs.
The base, located some 70 kilometers south of Seoul, serves as the headquarters of the 28,500-strong U.S. Forces Korea and the U.S.-led U.N. Command.
Yoon’s visit comes as North Korea has ratcheted up tensions by conducting an intercontinental ballistic missile test last month, breaking its self-imposed moratorium on ICBM and nuclear tests. Concerns have also risen that Pyongyang could conduct a nuclear test.
The president-elect was flying to the base by helicopter, according to his spokesperson Bae Hyun-jin.
He is expected to meet with Gen. Paul LaCamera, commander of USFK and the South Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command, as well as Deputy CFC Commander Gen. Kim Seung-kyum, to discuss the allies’ joint defense posture.
The CFC is in the process of relocating to Camp Humphreys from Yongsan in Seoul, the same area that Yoon is pushing to move the presidential office to.
Past presidents-elect, including Park Geun-hye, Lee Myung-bak and Roh Moo-hyun, visited the CFC in Yongsan but not the base in Pyeongtaek.
Source: Yonhap News Agency