ID :
63320
Sat, 05/30/2009 - 12:16
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/63320
The shortlink copeid
(LEAD) S. Korea, U.S. to reflect N. Korean threats in readjusting alliance
(ATTN: UPDATES; RECASTS lead, headline; ADDS details, background throughout)
By Sam Kim
SINGAPORE, May 30 (Yonhap) -- South Korea and the U.S. agreed Saturday to take
North Korean nuclear and missile threats into consideration as the allies move to
readjust their military partnership by 2012, the defense minister from Seoul
said.
Washington is scheduled to return the wartime operational command of South Korean
troops to Seoul in April 2012. It has been in the hands of the U.S. military in
South Korea since being relinquished at the onset of the 1950-53 Korean War.
Its planned transfer has been a subject of criticism among South Korean
conservatives, who fear it will undermine the joint deterrence capabilities
against North Korea.
The second nuclear test by North Korea on Monday has renewed the fears, and South
Korean Defense Minister Lee Sang-hee said he and his U.S. counterpart took note
of it when they met in Singapore.
Lee, who held a half-hour meeting with U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates on
the sidelines of an Asian security forum, said the two countries will start to
reflect "North Korean threats" when they examine their progress in restoring the
wartime command.
"We have agreed that we will keep vigilance over North Korean threats as we
review our steps in restoring the wartime operational command," Lee told South
Korean reporters.
Lee dismissed speculation that the agreement points to a possible delay of the
transfer of wartime operation command, which critics have suggested.
Earlier Saturday, Gates said the time line for Washington to return the wartime
command remains unchanged, despite North Korean provocations, including firings
of short-range missiles this week.
"On the Korean Peninsula, we will transition wartime operational control in 2012,
a historic moment when the Republic of Korea will take the lead role in its
defense," he said in a speech.
The Republic of Korea is South Korea's official title.
The affirmation came as the ruling South Korean party demanded its government
re-negotiate the 2007 pact to retrieve the command.
The U.S. has 28,500 troops stationed in South Korea as a deterrent against North
Korea.
Peacetime control was returned in 1994. The U.S. fought under the United Nations
command in the Korean War that ended in a truce.
samkim@yna.co.kr
(END)
By Sam Kim
SINGAPORE, May 30 (Yonhap) -- South Korea and the U.S. agreed Saturday to take
North Korean nuclear and missile threats into consideration as the allies move to
readjust their military partnership by 2012, the defense minister from Seoul
said.
Washington is scheduled to return the wartime operational command of South Korean
troops to Seoul in April 2012. It has been in the hands of the U.S. military in
South Korea since being relinquished at the onset of the 1950-53 Korean War.
Its planned transfer has been a subject of criticism among South Korean
conservatives, who fear it will undermine the joint deterrence capabilities
against North Korea.
The second nuclear test by North Korea on Monday has renewed the fears, and South
Korean Defense Minister Lee Sang-hee said he and his U.S. counterpart took note
of it when they met in Singapore.
Lee, who held a half-hour meeting with U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates on
the sidelines of an Asian security forum, said the two countries will start to
reflect "North Korean threats" when they examine their progress in restoring the
wartime command.
"We have agreed that we will keep vigilance over North Korean threats as we
review our steps in restoring the wartime operational command," Lee told South
Korean reporters.
Lee dismissed speculation that the agreement points to a possible delay of the
transfer of wartime operation command, which critics have suggested.
Earlier Saturday, Gates said the time line for Washington to return the wartime
command remains unchanged, despite North Korean provocations, including firings
of short-range missiles this week.
"On the Korean Peninsula, we will transition wartime operational control in 2012,
a historic moment when the Republic of Korea will take the lead role in its
defense," he said in a speech.
The Republic of Korea is South Korea's official title.
The affirmation came as the ruling South Korean party demanded its government
re-negotiate the 2007 pact to retrieve the command.
The U.S. has 28,500 troops stationed in South Korea as a deterrent against North
Korea.
Peacetime control was returned in 1994. The U.S. fought under the United Nations
command in the Korean War that ended in a truce.
samkim@yna.co.kr
(END)
