Korea, U.S. agree to speed up talks on transfer of wartime command

Korea and the United States agreed yesterday to "appropriately accelerate" discussions on Seoul`s efforts to gain greater control of its national defense, including operational command of its forces in wartime.

The United States will continue to provide South Korea with a nuclear umbrella as protection against any attack, Defense Minister Yoon Kwang-ung and visiting U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said at a joint news conference.

After the 37th annual Korea-U.S. Security Consultative Meeting in Seoul, the two top defense chiefs released a 13-article joint statement stressing the defense alliance between the two countries.

"As to when the (wartime command) shift might take place, it would take place at that moment when the Republic of Korea and the United States decide it is appropriate," Rumsfeld said, adding that Korea was assuming an increased role in its national defense.

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At the meeting, following up on issues agreed upon at last month`s Security Policy Initiative session, Yoon and Rumsfeld pledged "a seamless information exchange" to ensure a high-level counter-terror posture at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Busan on Nov. 18-19.

Reaffirming the two countries` decades-old "comprehensive and dynamic bilateral relationship," the two defense leaders noted that a solid combined defense posture should be maintained to secure peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia.

"We have made many adjustments in our relationship and alliance. We will strengthen our global posture to preserve the deterrent to over-aggression or nuclear blackmail," the U.S. defense secretary said.

Rumsfeld`s visit for the annual discussion comes at a sensitive time on the defense front, with South Korea preparing to take on wider defense independence in addition to preparing to take the lead in the upcoming round of the six-party talks on North Korea`s nuclear standoff.

President Roh Moo-hyun has signaled that he plans to end the U.S. right to control his country`s armed forced in case of war. Roh said during an Armed Forces Day ceremony on Oct. 1.that "we will exercise the right to our own wartime military control so the South Korean military can become an independent armed forces."

Since Roh came to power in 2003, he has repeatedly talked about the importance of Seoul holding wartime command of its forces.

Under a current agreement, South Korean troops would fall under the command of the USFK, currently led by Gen. Leon LaPorte, if a war situation developed. The South controls its forces in peacetime, having regained that right some years ago.

The annual review of the military alliance also covered the realignment and reduction of U.S. forces on the peninsula.

"Both sides agreed to exert greater effort to advance the relocation of USFK bases as planned, while noting that the successful completion of the relocation will serve as the cornerstone for the future of the ROK-US alliance," the statement read.

Under its global troop realignment plan, Washington plans to transform its worldwide military deployment that was based on Cold War-strategy into units equipped with sophisticated weapons and ready to move anywhere quickkly.

In accordance with the U.S. Global Presence Review, the two countries agreed last year to move U.S. forces stationed north of the Han River to Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province.

South Korea is scheduled to acquire sites to build a new garrison for U.S. forces by the end of this year. But the site acquisition is now in stalemate due to harsh protests by local residents and peace activists.

The plan also requires the United States to curtail its troop level in South Korea to 25,000 by 2008 from the current 32,500 and reposition them away from the border with North Korea.

Rumsfeld flew to Seoul from China Thursday on the second leg of a five-nation Asian trip that will also take him to Mongolia, Kazakhstan and Lithuania.

Rumsfeld will leave Seoul this morning after meeting President Roh Moo-hyun and Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon. He also met U.S. troops in Seoul.

The Seoul-Washington alliance, forged in blood during the Korean War, has shown signs of strains in recent years, as the allies argued over issues such as North Korea`s nuclear activities and the Iraq war.

In their joint news briefing, Yoon and Rumsfeld noted that North Korea`s continued development of weapons of mass destruction and long-range missiles along with other dangers were behind serious security concerns in the region. They called for the communist state`s prompt return to the Non-Proliferation Treaty and the International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards.

(davidpooh@heraldm.com)



By Jin Dae-woong