Kurt Campbell, U.S.
Assistant Secretary of State |
By Kim Sue-young
Staff Reporter
A U.S. official said that the U.S. is listening to concerns from South Korea regarding the planned transfer of wartime command in a sincere manner, Yonhap News reported Wednesday.
Further consultations on the issue may be necessary between senior officials of the two countries, Kurt Campbell, U.S. assistant secretary of state for Asia and Pacific affairs, was quoted as saying.
Campbell made the remarks at a meeting with reporters at the U.S. Embassy's Public Affairs Office in Seoul.
South Korean conservatives have called for a readjustment of the timeline for the transition of wartime operational control from the United States to South Korea scheduled for 2012.
Defense Minister Kim Tae-young said at a seminar in Seoul Jan. 20 that even if the security conditions were bad in 2012, the South Korean military will make the best of efforts to exercise independent wartime operational control of its armed forces as agreed on.
But he added that the leaders of the two allies could discuss readjustments of the timeline, if required.
South Korean Deputy Foreign Minister Lee Yong-joon, meanwhile, said the two countries shared similar views on the command transfer.
After meeting with Kurt Campbell at the foreign ministry, Lee said there was no specific difference on the issue between the two allies.
``I cannot give you details here but I discussed the command transfer issue (with Campbell) and found that the two sides are sharing similar views,'' he said.
Under the 2007 agreement on command arrangements, the ROK-U.S. Combined Forces Command (CFC) will be disbanded and both militaries will instead establish separate theater commands here.
South Korean forces will be responsible for most defensive operations after 2012 with the U.S. military shifting to a naval- and air-centric supporting role.
South Korea handed over both peacetime and wartime operational controls to the U.S.-led United Nations Command at the outbreak of the Korean War (1950-53) and later, transferred them to the CFC.
Seoul regained peacetime control in 1994.
After the agreement on the wartime command transfer, disputes arose between conservatives and liberals.
Conservative groups believe the hand-over of the wartime command would decrease the U.S. commitment to South Korea, which still sees lingering threats from North Korea.
Meanwhile, Campbell expressed support for a possible inter-Korean summit.
``We welcome efforts by the South Korean President to reach across to North Korea,'' he said.
But the assistant secretary noted that North Korea has to come back to the deadlocked six-party denuclearization talks.
``We believe the essential next step is (for North Korea) to return to the six-party talks. As part of that, North Korea needs to abide by its commitment made in 2005 and 2007,'' he said.
President Lee Myung-bak said in an interview with the BBC last week that "I think I can meet (North Korean leader Kim Jong-il) within this year."
Campbell also stressed the strong alliance between the two countries, saying it could "never be better."
The U.S. official flew to Seoul from Tokyo Tuesday.
ksy@koreatimes.co.kr
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