South Korea and the United States have failed to agree on a timetable for the transfer of wartime operational control on the Korean Peninsula due to their different assessments of Seoul's military capabilities, a senior South Korean defense official said Monday.
"Negotiations over the timeline went nowhere as the two sides insisted on their own target period," said Kwon An-do, the assistant defense minister for policy, who led the South Korean delegation to the talks held in Washington on Sept. 27-28. In the 10th round of the talks, called the Security Policy Initiative (SPI), South Korea and the U.S. finalized a blueprint for their new military alliance, including Seoul's takeover of wartime control of its military from Washington.
But they agreed to continue to negotiate the timetable for the transfer of wartime control. South Korea hopes to regain it in 2012, while the U.S. has proposed handing it over as early as 2009.
"We agreed to continue the discussion on the timeline. If no agreement is made, the defense chiefs of the two countries will discuss it during their annual talks later this month. If they fail to agree, it will again be the topic of future SPI talks," Kwon told reporters.
Later in the day, the Defense Ministry said it has not changed its position on the target year, dismissing speculation that South Korea might attempt to reach compromise with the U.S. between 2009 and 2012 in upcoming negotiations.
"Despite the failure of negotiations, our position is that the appropriate year of taking over wartime control is 2012. The ministry has not revised the target year in consideration of failed past negotiations," said Brig. Gen. Lee Yong-dae, spokesman for the ministry.
During the talks, the U.S. delegation, led by Deputy Undersecretary of Defense Richard Lawless, pressed for the early transfer, citing South Korea's improved military deterrent ability against North Korea.
The U.S. promised to provide a "bridging capability" for South Korea during the transition of wartime control. A bridging capability includes the continued presence of a U.S. Patriot missile defense unit, its surveillance aircraft and other intelligence gathering units and warfighting command systems.
"As a veteran with a 35-year career in the Korean military, I explained why South Korea needs more time for taking over wartime control from the U.S.," Kwon said.
The final results of the SPI are to be presented at the upcoming meeting of the South Korean and U.S
Seoul, Oct. 2 (Yonhap News)
Seoul, Washington still at odds over timeline for wartime control transfer |
