The top U.S. commander here reaffirmed on Tuesday that South Korea's planned takeover of wartime operational control from the United States is "not a cause for concern but a cause for celebration."
"Within the next three to six years, we will stand down this time-honored command and make transition to independent and complementary ROK and U.S. national commands ," Gen. B. B. Bell, commander of the U.S. Forces Korea, said in a commemorative speech for the 28th anniversary of the founding of the Combined Forces Command (CFC). ROK, the Republic of Korea, is the official name of South Korea.
Last month, South Korea and the U.S. failed to set a target date for the transfer of wartime control during their annual defense talks in Washington. As a stopgap measure, they agreed on a flexible transition timeline between Oct. 15, 2009 and March 15, 2012. South Korean officials say that the compromise agreement is instrumental in taking over wartime control by 2012, while U.S. officials say it will transfer wartime control to South Korea by the end of 2009.
The main change will be the disbanding of the CFC and the creation of two separate military commands when South Korea regains wartime control over the next few years.
The CFC, created in November 1978, took over operational control rights from the American-led United Nations Command (UNC).
"What will not be changed is the unwavering commitment of us to this alliance, and should deterrence fail, North Korea attack the South, we will assure force commitment," Bell said.
The ceremony, which took place at Knight Field of the main U.S. base Yongsan Garrison, included a 17-gun salute and an honor guard march. The anniversary drew attention this year as the two countries agreed to establish a new military command system on the Korean Peninsula during the transition of wartime control.
In a speech read by a CFC official, President Roh Moo-hyun stressed the importance of the CFC's role at a time when North Korea's nuclear weapon and missile tests pose a threat to security not only on the Korean Peninsula but also in Northeast Asia.
"I understand the maintenance of combined defense posture based on a strong ROK-U.S. alliance is the most important to the peace and prosperity of the peninsula and Northeast Asia," Roh said.
South Korea voluntarily put the operational control of its military under the UNC shortly after the Korean War broke out in 1950. In 1994, South Korea regained peacetime control of its forces, but wartime control remains in the hands of the top U.S. commander in South Korea, who heads both the UNC and the CFC.
To mollify fears about a possible security vacuum, Seoul and Washington agreed to set up a body for joint military operations, a key step toward a joint defense system in case of a contingency on the peninsula. They are to create two separate commands before establishing a joint defense system. In the envisaged joint defense system, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) will act as theater command on the Korean Peninsula and take the initiative in military operations, while the U.S. Forces Korea will shift to a supporting role.
The joint body will be designed to coordinate joint military operations and give orders on cooperation during times of peace and war, and it will be designed to be stronger than the U.S.-Japan alliance model, according to military officials.
However, the U.S.-led UNC will be maintained on the Korean Peninsula despite the planned dismantlement of the CFC, according to the officials.
North Korea frequently demands the dismantlement of the UNC, saying it poses a challenge to the unification of the two Koreas and that the U.S. formed the organization without proper authorization from the U.N. over five decades ago.
During the 1950-53 Korean War, the U.S. and 15 other countries fought alongside South Korea under the U.N. flag against the invading North.
Currently, some 30,000 U.S. troops are stationed in South Korea, a legacy of the 1950-53 Korean War. The U.S. plans to cut the number of its troops here to 25,000 by 2008.
The two Koreas are still technically in a state of war, since the Korean War ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty.
Seoul, Nov. 7 (Yonhap News)
Wartime control transition is not a cause for concern: USFK commander |
