From 'cute navy' to RIMPAC command

HONOLULU — Foreign navies once referred to the Korean Navy as the “cute navy.” Rear Adm.

Kim In-ho, commander of the Republic of Korea Fleet, recalled hearing the nickname from senior officers who participated in earlier Rim of the Pacific exercises (RIMPAC), when sending two frigates across the Pacific to Hawaii was considered an achievement.

Those days are long gone.

Today, Korea commands the maritime component of the world’s largest multinational naval exercise.

Kim, the first officer from an Asian country to lead the Combined Force Maritime Component Command (CFMCC), said the experience extends beyond this year’s exercise and will help strengthen the Korean military’s combined maritime capabilities as it prepares for the wartime transfer of operational control (OPCON).

“RIMPAC is designed to improve interoperability, protect sea lines of communication and strengthen multinational responses to maritime threats,” Kim told reporters during a media roundtable.

“In that sense, it also provides a valuable opportunity for our military to further strengthen its combined marit ...