U.S. may extend military role in S. Korea

By Lee Jong-Heon
UPI Correspondent

Published: June 17, 2009

U.S. President Barack Obama (R) and South Korea's President Lee Myung-bak laugh after they exchanged podiums as they attend a press conference in the Rose Garden of the White House, June 16, 2009, in Washington D.C. The leaders discussed the issue of North Korea's nuclear program, trade issues and the world economy. (UPI Photo/Mike Theiler)

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Seoul, South Korea — South Korean military officials and defense analysts are welcoming an agreement reached between President Lee Myung-bak and U.S. President Barack Obama that will allow a postponement of the transfer of wartime command of South Korean troops back to Seoul from Washington.

At their summit in Washington on Tuesday, the two presidents agreed on a "Joint Vision for the Alliance," highlighted by the U.S. commitment to provide nuclear protection to South Korea to counter a growing nuclear threat from North Korea.

The two leaders also agreed to advance a plan to restructure their half-century-old military alliance to allow Seoul to "take the lead role in the combined defense" of the peninsula, "supported by an enduring and capable U.S. military force presence" – referring to the planned transition of wartime control.

In an apparent bid to address the South's security jitters, however, Lee and Obama did not mention a time frame for the transfer, indicating the two countries could postpone the transition beyond the current deadline of 2012.

"The two leaders agreed to periodically review the schedule of the wartime command transfer while keeping a close watch on threats from North Korea and overall security conditions on the Korean peninsula," a Seoul government official said.

The summit agreement leaves room for the two allies to reschedule the transfer in case of persisting threats from the nuclear-armed communist nation, he said.

South Korea voluntarily put operational control of its military under the U.S.-led United Nations Command shortly after the Korean War broke out in 1950. It took back peacetime operational control in 1994, but wartime operational control remains in the hands of the top U.S. commander in Seoul.

Lee's liberal and anti-American predecessor, Roh Moo-hyun, had pushed to take back wartime command from the U.S. military as part of efforts to bolster the country's self-defense posture, which prompted Washington to seek to hand over the right in 2009.

Roh also agreed to disband the South Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command, which would allow Seoul and Washington to run separate military commands. Roh, who had sought to distance South Korea from its U.S.-led allies while pursuing reconciliation with North Korea, described the plans as part of efforts to lay the groundwork for a self-defense system independent of the United States.

But in the face of strong protests by war veterans and conservative activists, Roh and U.S. President George W. Bush agreed in early 2007 that the transition of wartime command would take place on April 17, 2012.

The United States already plans to redeploy its frontline ground forces to south of Seoul, away from the border with North Korea, in the biggest realignment of U.S. forces in this country since the 1950-53 Korean War. The United States has also reduced its troops in South Korea to some 28,500 from 37,000 as part of Washington's global troop realignment plan.

Since taking office, Lee's conservative camp has advocated a delay in the transfer of wartime control, saying the issue needed a "prudent review." During election campaigns, Lee pledged to renegotiate the date of the transition, saying 2012 was too early.

The North's recent threatening maneuvers – including nuclear and missile tests and warnings of war – have bolstered calls for the delay in wartime command transfer.

Ahead of Lee's meeting with Obama, South Korean war veterans, retired military officers and conservative civic groups held rallies against the handover of wartime command, which they say would jeopardize the Seoul-Washington security alliance that has served as a key deterrent against North Korea, which has a 1.2 million-strong army.

The groups said they had collected more than 85 million signatures backing their call for a delay in the transfer.

"We are staging campaigns to collect 10 million signatures," said Park Seh-jik, head of the Korea Veterans Association. "The transfer should come only after the North's nuclear weapons programs are fully dismantled," he said.

Professor Kim Yol-su of Seoul’s National Defense University said the transfer of the wartime control in 2012 could fuel security uncertainties on the Korean peninsula. "Both South Korea and The United States plans to hold presidential elections in 2012, when new leaders are also most likely to emerge in China and Russia," he said.

"Furthermore, North Korea is campaigning to build a ‘kangsong taeguk,’ or a prosperous and militarily powerful nation, in 2012 when it marks the 100th birthday of (deceased founding leader) Kim Il-Sung," he said.

"The transfer of the wartime command needs to be rescheduled to consider the complex security situation on the peninsula in 2012," Kim said.