US Slashes Intelligence Unit for NK
By Jung Sung-ki
Staff Reporter
The Pacific Command in Hawaii has reduced its officials whose task is gathering intelligence on North Korea by 60 percent since the signing of an agreement last year on the transfer of wartime operational control of Korean troops from the U.S. military to Korean commanders in 2012, officials from the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) in Seoul confirmed Friday.
Critics say the move signals a weakening U.S. commitment to the security of South Korea after Seoul takes over the authority to command and control its troops during wartime.
On Thursday, Rep. Kim Dong-seong of the governing Grand National Party revealed in a National Assembly session that the Pacific Command, in charge of U.S. troops operations in case of an emergency on the peninsula, has reduced the numbers of personnel on North Korea by 120 to 80.
The 120 personnel were transferred to a department on intelligence gathering on China, he said, citing a verbal report by JCS officials.
The JCS has called for the need to strengthen the country's independent intelligence-gathering capability to fill the gap, said Kim.
``The Pacific Command has not officially notified South Korea of the decrease in the numbers of its intelligence officials on North Korea, but we guess the command decided to put more energy on gathering China-related intelligence given the rapid buildup of China's military,'' an official of the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said, asking not to be named.
``When the transition of wartime operational control occurs, South Korea will beef up the intelligence-gathering capabilities of the intelligence offices of the MND and JCS,'' he said. The South Korean and U.S. militaries will also create an intelligence office to help facilitate intelligence and information sharing, he added.
The decades-long U.S-led combined-forces mechanism on the peninsula is to undergo major changes under a landmark pact on command rearrangement plans reached early last year. The two militaries are on track to put a South Korean-led ``joint defense system'' in place.
Under the accord, South Korean commanders will execute independent operational control of their troops during wartime, beginning April 17, 2012, with the U.S military shifting to a supporting role under the agreement. The Combined Forces Command (CFC) is to be deactivated.
South Korea handed over peacetime and wartime operational control to the U.S.-led UNC at the outbreak of the 1950-53 Korean War. The command authority was transferred to the CFC in 1978. Seoul took over peacetime control in 1994.
Beginning this year, South Korean and U.S. forces are scheduled to conduct two sets of joint drills each year until 2011. The exercises will focus on transforming the U.S.-led combined forces structure to a South Korean-led separate command system.