US to Pause in Troop Reductions in S. Korea
By Jung Sung-ki
Staff Reporter
The U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) wants to freeze troop reductions in South Korea at the current 28,000 to meet future security needs of both Seoul and Washington, a U.S. diplomatic source said Monday.
The two nations had agreed in 2004 to reduce the number of USFK members by 12,000 to 25,000 in a phased manner by the end of 2008.
Under the pact, the United States withdrew about 5,000 American forces from South Korea in 2004, 3,000 in 2005 and 1,000 in 2006. There are some 28,000 U.S. forces here now as a deterrent against North Korea.
The 2004 deal was in line with U.S. military transformation efforts worldwide and the liberal Roh Moo-hyun government's pursuit of building a ``self-reliant'' defense capability emerging from the decades-long U.S. security umbrella.
The source told The Korea Times that the decision on the troop cut freeze was made after a ``deliberate'' and ``liberal'' assessment of the changing security situation on the Korean Peninsula and the two nations' military transformation plans.
He referred to the lingering threat posed by North Korea, which conducted its first-ever nuclear device test in October 2006. The North test-launched several short- and medium-ranged missiles, along with an advanced ballistic missile believed to be capable of reaching the U.S., into the eastern waters toward Japan in July that year.
The source said the move to pause in U.S. troop reductions is also related to the inauguration of the conservative Lee Myung-bak government putting priority on enhancing the defense readiness of the combined forces of South Korea and United States.
Under its military transformation plan called Global Posture Review (GPR), the United States has made efforts to realign its overseas troops and make the forces more agile for rapid deployment to other conflict regions.
The transformation plan has undergone some changes and the USFK believes some more troops than the agreed 25,000 are needed to better maintain security on the peninsula and support South Korea's Defense 2020 military reform plan that requires some 190,000 in troop cuts by 2020, according to the source.
South Korea now has about 680,000 troops.
Seoul is to take over independent wartime operational control (OPCON) of its armed forces from the U.S. military, beginning April 17, 2012, under a deal sealed between the two governments early last year.
The OPCON transfer, however, would not be feasible given North Korea's 1.1-million armed strength without the support of ground troops from both South Korea and the United States, some military experts say.
Last week, the top U.S. commander in the Pacific region hinted at the potential pause in troop cuts in South Korea.
Adm. Timothy Keating, commander of the U.S. Pacific Command in Hawaii, told a security meeting in Washington D.C. that the troop strength of USFK, at one time as high as 37,000, will remain steady at between 25,000 and 28,000 after the OPCON transfer in 2012.