Allies Ready to Remove N. Korean Nukes

By Jung Sung-ki
Staff Reporter

The militaries of South Korea and the United States are undergoing joint training to remove weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) if a contingency situation occurs on the Korean Peninsula, the top American general here said Thursday.

In a news conference at Yongsan Garrison in Seoul, Gen. Walter Sharp, commander of the ROK-U.S. Combined Forces Command (CFC), said his command was testing a combined unit for WMD removal during the ongoing Key Resolve exercise.

The 10-day exercise began Monday, with the aim of testing South Korean-led theater operations after the planned transition of wartime operational control, or OPCON, from the CFC commander to the chairman of the Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff in 2012.

Sharp, who also serves as commander of the 28,000-strong U.S. Forces Korea and the United Nations Command, made it clear that both the U.S. and South Korean militaries would take charge of locating, securing and eliminating North Korean WMDs in the case of war, even after the OPCON transfer.

He said that a U.S.-ROK special unit for WMD removal was participating in the ongoing exercises.

Sharp was apparently referring to the 20th Support Command, a major subordinate command of the U.S. Army Forces Command, as the force on the disposal mission.

The unit deals with chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosive ordnance disposal.

The 2006 Quadrennial Defense Review identified the need for the support command to serve as a joint task force capable of rapid deployment for WMD elimination and site exploitation.

Sharp said at a Seoul seminar Oct. 30 that the U.S. and South Korean militaries had agreed that U.S. forces would still spearhead WMD removal operations after the OPCON transfer on April 17 in 2012.

Defense experts see the move as a major turnaround from a contingency strategy under the previous Roh Moo-hyun administration in pursuit of building a "self-reliant" military independent from the U.S. military.

The Roh administration wanted South Korea to lead almost all operations, including the elimination of WMDs, if North Korea is embroiled in a domestic crisis or suddenly collapses.

It also opposed the development of a contingency plan on North Korea, arguing it could infringe on the country's sovereignty and cause a full-scale war on the Korean Peninsula should the U.S. military take unilateral action against North Korea.

Since early last year, the CFC has developed schemes to prepare for the North's internal instabilities by creating a working group for research on WMD elimination capabilities.

The operational plan codenamed 5029 outlines specific courses of action to cope with various levels of internal turmoil in the North, such as a mass inflow of North Korean refugees, a civil war provoked by revolt or coup, South Korean hostages being held in North Korea and natural disasters.

Meanwhile, the commander dismissed recent calls by some U.S. defense experts that the OPCON transfer should be delayed due to the lingering threat posed by North Korea's nuclear and missile programs.

He said the envisaged joint defense system, in which the allies are to run separate theater commands after disbanding the CFC, will still be effective in defending against North Korea with the U.S. military shifting to a supporting role for the command and control by South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff.

gallantjung@koreatimes.co.kr

샤프 `북 WMD 제거부대 훈련 중'

월터 샤프 주한미군사령관은 11일 유사시 북한의 대량살상무기(WMD)를 제거하기 위한 전담부대를 운용하고 있으며, 현재 실시 중인 한.미 키리졸브 (Key Resolve) 연습에서 이를 훈련하고 있다고 밝혔다.

샤프 사령관은 이날 용산 한미연합사령부에서 가진 기자회견에서 북한의 WMD와 관련, "한미 양국의 공동책임이라고 생각하며 WMD의 위치 파악과 확보, 제거와 관련해 양국이 긴밀히 협조하며 대응해갈 것"이라며 "이 같은 작전적인 전문성을 가진 제거부대를 미측이 보유하고 있다"고 말했다.

그는 "이 부대는 이번 키리졸브 연습에도 참가하고 있으며 실제 전쟁이 일어나도 참가할 것"이라며 "전작권 변환 이후에도 바뀌지 않을 것"이라고 했다.

한미가 북한의 WMD 제거 작전을 미군이 주도하기로 합의한 사실은 알려져 있지만 미군이 해당 부대를 직접 한반도에 파견해 훈련을 실시한 사실은 이번에 처음 밝혀졌다. 미군의 WMD 제거 전담부대가 한반도에 파견돼 훈련을 실시한 것은 작년에 이어 이번이 두 번째인 것으로 알려졌다.

샤프 사령관은 작년 10월30일 한 국제회의에서 "북한의 WMD를 제거하는 작전과 해병대의 강습상륙 작전은 미군이 주도하기로 합의했다"고 언급한 바 있다.
샤프 사령관은 "전쟁 발발 시 수도권을 파괴할 수 있는 북한의 장사정포의 위치를 식별하는 등 철저히 대비하고 있으며, 적이 공격해오면 공군과 지상 자산을 운용해 격멸할 것"이라며 "매년 연습을 통해 확인한 것이지만 이번에는 더욱 강화하고 있다"고 밝혔다.