WASHINGTON, May 14 (UPI) -- Budgetary concerns may interfere with the U.S. military's efforts to focus on potential threats in the Pacific region, U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Frank Wiercinski said.
Wiercinski, commander of U.S. forces in the Pacific region, said the military is preparing to shift about 60 percent of its assets to the region in the next 10 years. The realignment is part of a so-called pivot strategy that focuses on threats from North Korea and others in the region.
"The people are there, the equipment is there" but the funding might fall short, he was quoted by Military.com as saying.
U.S. and South Korean forces have conducted a series of military drills in the region following North Korea's February underground test of a nuclear device. The latest naval drills included the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier, one of the largest warships in the world.
North Korea said those exercises, and a visit to the United States by South Korean President Park Geun-hye, were acts of aggression.
Park said Tuesday she was ready to initiate talks about getting raw goods out of the industrial complex in the border city of Kaesong, South Korean news agency Yonhap reports.
