U.S. proposes three-year training for transfer of wartime troop control

The top commander of U.S. troops stationed in South Korea has proposed holding joint exercises between U.S. and South Korean soldiers here to prepare for the transfer of wartime control of South Korean troops to Seoul in 2009, a government official told reporters Friday.

The reported proposal comes amid a heated debate here over whether the country will be able to fully and effectively control its troops during a war.

"The commander of the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK), Gen. B. B. Bell, recently proposed holding joint military exercises before South Korea begins the independent exercise of wartime control" of its troops in 2009, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

"The proposal is to hold joint exercises in a three-year phase, including the (proposed) year of the transfer of wartime control," the official added.

South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun said earlier that the country will be able to effectively exercise wartime control of its troops even if it were to be transferred back from the United States immediately.

The wartime control of South Korean troops has remained with the top commander of U.S. forces here since it was handed to the U.S.-led United Nations Command shortly after the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950.

The Defense Ministry believes 2012 is a more suitable date for the country to begin exercising wartime control without any major holes in security, while the opposition argues it would lead to more frequent or serious provocations, if not a full-blown attack, from North Korea. Washington has offered to return it by 2009.

"If a decision by our governments is made to proceed now, it is my military assessment that such a transition can be achieved -- with assured continued deterrence and warfighting readiness -- over a three-year period of focused organizational activity, training and exercising," Gen. Bell said at a local forum Thursday.

The U.S. commander's proposal is to annually hold joint military exercises for the next three years during which the U.S. commander's role of commanding South Korean troops in simulated wars would gradually be transferred to a South Korean commander, the official said.

South Korea would independently exercise wartime control of its troops during the last year's joint exercise while U.S. forces would only take part as "observers," according to the official.

The U.S. and South Korea regularly hold joint exercises here, such as RSOI and Ulchii Focus Lens, but the official said the proposed military drills would be separate from the existing ones.

The countries' combined forces of some 600,000 officially remain in a state of war with about 1.1 million North Korean troops since the three-year Korean War ended only with a cease-fire.

Seoul, Sept. 8 (Yonhap News)