US Reaffirms Nuclear Umbrella for S. Korea
By Lee Tae-hoon
Staff Reporter
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Thursday that Washington will continue to provide its nuclear deterrent to South Korea.
"The United States will continue to provide extended deterrence using the full range of military capabilities including the nuclear umbrella to ensure the security of the Republic of Korea (ROK)," Gates said during annual security talks between the two allies in Yongsan, Seoul.
He made the statement after co-chairing the 41st bilateral Security Consultative Meeting (SCM) with Defense Minister Kim Tae-young.
"I want to reaffirm the unwavering commitment of the United States to the alliance and to the defense of the ROK," Gates said, adding that Pyongyang continues to pose a threat to Seoul and other allies in Northeast Asia.
He said Washington will not accept the communist North as a nuclear-armed state and will seek its complete and verifiable denuclearization in a peaceful manner through the six-party talks.
North Korea pulled out of the multilateral talks in April after the international community condemned its failed rocket launch, which was allegedly capable of carrying nuclear warheads and striking parts of the U.S.
On Wednesday, Gates also said the threat posed by the reclusive North had reached a higher level and become even more "lethal and destabilizing."
With regard to the North's recent reconciliatory gestures, Defense Minister Kim said it was premature to conclude that the secretive state was ready to engage seriously in nuclear diplomacy.
"Although, on the surface, there are signs of some change from North Korea, including its recent willingness to talk, in reality the unstable situation such as the nuclear program and the military-first policy remains unchanged," Kim said.
Pyongyang began to make peace overtures to Seoul and Washington in August, a stark contrast to its second nuclear test and firing of long-range missiles earlier this year.
Kim also added that the two allies were looking at "all possible scenarios and developing plans" should the Stalinist regime's current leader Kim Jong-il be replaced by his son.
The two defense chiefs also reaffirmed that the transfer of the wartime operational command of South Korean troops from Washington to Korea is on schedule to take place in 2012.
The command was relinquished to the United States at the onset of the 1950-53 Korean War, which ended in a truce rather than a peace treaty.
The U.S. currently has 28,500 troops stationed on the Korean Peninsula, down from 37,000 in 2004. Washington and Seoul had agreed to reduce the number to 25,000 in phases by the end of 2008, but later decided against it.