ID :
207927
Mon, 09/19/2011 - 06:58
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/207927
The shortlink copeid
S. Korea, U.S. to complete joint operation plan against N. Korean provocation
SEOUL, Sept. 19 (Yonhap) -- South Korea and the U.S. have agreed to complete a joint military operational plan to prepare against potential North Korean provocations by the end of this year, the defense ministry here said Monday.
In a report submitted to the National Assembly for the annual parliamentary audit, the ministry said Seoul and Washington will look to bolster their joint defense against the North. Previously, only South Korean forces responded to North Korean provocations, and the joint plan is expected to help the South obtain U.S. assistance if needed.
In addition to some 650,000 South Korean troops, about 28,500 U.S. soldiers are stationed throughout South Korea, as a legacy of the 1950-53 Korean War. The conflict ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty, and left the two Koreas technically at war.
"We will specify different steps to take in response to provocations among different echelons," the ministry said. "We will also develop a list of common indications of provocations for South Korea and the U.S. so that we can better recognize enemy signs."
The ministry said it also plans to host combined maneuvering drills between the South's Marine Corps and the U.S. to prepare for North Korean provocations in border islands in the Yellow Sea.
Last year, North Korea torpedoed the South Korean warship Cheonan in March and shelled the border island of Yeonpyeong in November, claiming a total of 50 South Korean lives. The Yellow Sea has also been the site of three bloody naval skirmishes between the Koreas since 1999.
The ministry said it has also modified the areas of operational responsibility in the Yellow Sea to ensure greater efficiency. The Marine Corps' Northwest Islands Defense Command will now oversee all waters around five Yellow Sea islands, including Yeonpyeong.
Currently, in peace time or in case of low intensity provocation by North Korea, the Northwest Islands Defense Command is in charge of the defense of waters within a 2 kilometer-radius of those islands, and is backed up by the 2nd Navy Fleet.
Outside of that range, the 2nd Navy Fleet is in charge, with the defense command providing support. This setup has created confusion about the command structure in the volatile waters, critics have said.
During the audit session later Monday, Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin said Seoul and Washington are discussing revisions to their bilateral missile accord to bolster South Korea's missile capabilities.
The accord, signed in 1979 and once revised in 2001, limits the range of South Korean ballistic missiles to 300 kilometers and their payload weight to 500 kilograms. It prevents Seoul from matching the range of missiles in the North Korean arsenal.
Kim declined to offer specific numbers if the accord is revised, but said, "We're having technical negotiations so that the range will cover the entire Korean Peninsula."
Kim also said South Korea is demanding the expansion of the range so that a missile from here could reach any missile base north of the border.
Critics of the accord have said the South Korean range should be increased to between 800 kilometers and 1,000 kilometers.
In a report submitted to the National Assembly for the annual parliamentary audit, the ministry said Seoul and Washington will look to bolster their joint defense against the North. Previously, only South Korean forces responded to North Korean provocations, and the joint plan is expected to help the South obtain U.S. assistance if needed.
In addition to some 650,000 South Korean troops, about 28,500 U.S. soldiers are stationed throughout South Korea, as a legacy of the 1950-53 Korean War. The conflict ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty, and left the two Koreas technically at war.
"We will specify different steps to take in response to provocations among different echelons," the ministry said. "We will also develop a list of common indications of provocations for South Korea and the U.S. so that we can better recognize enemy signs."
The ministry said it also plans to host combined maneuvering drills between the South's Marine Corps and the U.S. to prepare for North Korean provocations in border islands in the Yellow Sea.
Last year, North Korea torpedoed the South Korean warship Cheonan in March and shelled the border island of Yeonpyeong in November, claiming a total of 50 South Korean lives. The Yellow Sea has also been the site of three bloody naval skirmishes between the Koreas since 1999.
The ministry said it has also modified the areas of operational responsibility in the Yellow Sea to ensure greater efficiency. The Marine Corps' Northwest Islands Defense Command will now oversee all waters around five Yellow Sea islands, including Yeonpyeong.
Currently, in peace time or in case of low intensity provocation by North Korea, the Northwest Islands Defense Command is in charge of the defense of waters within a 2 kilometer-radius of those islands, and is backed up by the 2nd Navy Fleet.
Outside of that range, the 2nd Navy Fleet is in charge, with the defense command providing support. This setup has created confusion about the command structure in the volatile waters, critics have said.
During the audit session later Monday, Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin said Seoul and Washington are discussing revisions to their bilateral missile accord to bolster South Korea's missile capabilities.
The accord, signed in 1979 and once revised in 2001, limits the range of South Korean ballistic missiles to 300 kilometers and their payload weight to 500 kilograms. It prevents Seoul from matching the range of missiles in the North Korean arsenal.
Kim declined to offer specific numbers if the accord is revised, but said, "We're having technical negotiations so that the range will cover the entire Korean Peninsula."
Kim also said South Korea is demanding the expansion of the range so that a missile from here could reach any missile base north of the border.
Critics of the accord have said the South Korean range should be increased to between 800 kilometers and 1,000 kilometers.
