Adm. Scott Swift, the commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, arrived in Seoul on Sunday for a three-day visit, as part of his first inspection tour of the Asia-Pacific since his inauguration in May.

During his visit, the admiral is expected to meet with top South Korean military leaders including Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Choi Yun-hee and Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Chung Ho-seop. During their talks, they are likely to focus on joint efforts to deter North Korea.

Before arriving here, the commander visited Manila, the Philippines, where he stressed that U.S. forces are capable and ready to cope with any contingency in the South China Sea, where maritime disputes continue to escalate as China builds artificial islands apparently for defense purposes.

Headquartered in Hawaii, the Pacific Fleet is the world’s largest naval unit with about 200 ships and submarines, around 1,100 military aircraft and more than 140,000 naval personnel and civilian workers. After his trip to Korea, Swift is to fly to Japan on Tuesday.

By Song Sang-ho (sshluck@heraldcorp.com)