N. Korea pressures evolving S. Korea-U.S. military ties: U.S. general

By Sam Kim
SEOUL, Nov. 17 (Yonhap) -- North Korea's belligerence mounts pressure on South
Korea and the United States as the allies move forward on the scheduled
transition of their military partnership, a senior U.S. commander said Tuesday.
Washington is working to transfer the wartime operational control of South Korean
troops to Seoul in 2012 after it was handed to the U.S. at the onset of the
1950-53 Korean War.
Lt. Gen. Joseph Fil Jr., Chief of Staff for the U.S. Forces Korea, said North
Korea's defiant moves, including its May nuclear test, adds to pressure on the
allies tasked with the transition.
"Even as we march quickly toward the transfer of operational control, very recent
history has provided the combined staff with plenty to do," Fil said in a speech
in Seoul.
"In the past year alone, the North Korean government has detonated a nuclear
device and tested numerous long-range weapons systems on top of their more
routine demonstrations of force," he said.
Fil was hosting a change of command ceremony for top officials of the U.N.
military committee that oversees the truce that ended the Korean War.
"Each of their actions causes a cascade of intelligence and operations data that
flows through the security mechanisms of both of our countries," he said. "The
preparation for OPCON transition and North Korea's belligerence have kept us
very, very busy."
Fil commands the Eighth U.S. Army, which falls under the leadership of Gen.
Walter Sharp, commander of the South Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command. The U.S.
has 28,500 troops stationed in South Korea as a deterrent against North Korea.
North Korea recently announced it has reprocessed the remainder of its spent fuel
rods used to produce weapons-grade plutonium, while its navy exchanged gunfire
with its South Korean counterpart off the west coast of the divided Korean
Peninsula.
samkim@yna.co.kr
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