'OPCON transfer delay hurts sovereignty'

Rep. Moon Hee-sang, interim leader of the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD), gesticulates during an inverview with The Korea Times. / Korea Times

Opposition leader calls for gradual peaceful unification

By Jun Ji-hye

Seoul and Washington’s agreement to delay South Korea’s takeover of wartime operational control (OPCON) of its troops from the United States severely damaged the nation’s sovereignty and national interest, according to Rep. Moon Hee-sang, interim leader of the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD).

In a recent interview to commemorate the 64th anniversary of The Korea Times that falls on Nov. 1, the lawmaker also said the delay of the transition broke a campaign pledge made in the lead-up to the 2012 presidential election by President Park Geun-hye as she promised to the public to retrieve wartime OPCON by the end of 2015.

“The two allies even failed to determine the exact timing of the transfer, only stating an appropriate date. The decision just appears to be an indefinite delay of the transition,” he said. “I am really worried that Park is ignoring the people’s aspiration that calls for regaining authority to control their own military in the event of war.”

The comment came a few days after Defense Minister Han Min-koo and U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel agreed to delay the transition of wartime OPCON until South Korea’s military capability against nuclear and missile threats from North Korea is secured.

The defense ministry noted that the transition could take place in mid-2020s as Minister Han told his U.S. counterpart that Seoul will have developed its own Kill Chain preemptive strike and Korean Air and Missile Defense (KAMD) systems by that time.

However, Moon claimed that stating a reason of maintaining national security is not sufficient to persuade the public about the delay.

“Wartime OPCON must return to South Korea, which needs to be more autonomous in handling Pyongyang’s military threats,” he said.

The five-term lawmaker said the latest agreement between Han and Hagel could diminish the chance of building mutual trust between the two Koreas and establishing a peace structure on the peninsula.

“The delay on transfer will only lead to a fierce arms race between the South and North,” he said.

He added that this could deteriorate inter-Korean relations further.

“Both the South and North suffer damage when inter-Korean ties are strained. This is a lesson from history,” he said.

He cited the May 24 sanctions as an example that imposed damage on both Koreas.

Since the measures that were imposed by former President Lee Myung-bak after the North torpedoed the South Korean frigate, Cheonan, in March 2010, nearly all government-level interactions and aid for Pyongyang have been frozen.

“The sanctions have also caused a severe loss to the South’s small- and medium-sized enterprises as new investment has not been able to be made in the Gaeseong Industrial Complex,” he said.

To improve inter-Korean ties over the short term, the veteran politician called on the government to spare no effort to clinch inter-Korean high-level talks. At the talks, the two sides should mull ways of regularly holding a reunion event for families separated during the 1950-53 Korean War, as well as ways of resuming tours to Mount Geumgang on the North’s east coast, he said.

“If possible, an inter-Korean summit should be included on the agenda, too,” he added.

The government suggested on Oct. 13 that the talks be held on Oct. 30.

The North has not accepted the offer, while urging the South to stop an anti-Pyongyang airborne leaflet campaign.

Civic groups, mostly comprised of North Korean defectors here, have been launching balloons containing the leaflets intended to enlighten people in the North who are brainwashed by ideology to support the regime in Pyongyang, by denouncing the Kim dynasty, now a three-generation lineage of North Korean leadership.

But the campaign caused the recent exchange of gunfire with some of the bullets landing in the vicinity of Yeoncheon, south of the Military Demarcation Line, scaring local residents.

Moon pointed out the government should actively restrict such a campaign, rather than saying it cannot interfere with civilians' activities, as it is directly related to the safety of the local people.

“Both the Lee Myung-bak government and Park Geun-hye administration had a history of mobilizing police to block the balloon launches. And the NPAD believed that this was an inevitable measure to create a communication mood between the two Koreas,” he said. “The government should manage the situations well to prevent a minor error from disturbing its inter-Korean policy.”

He also asked the civic groups to realize that sending leaflets to the North cannot bring about a change in the isolated state ― it will only raise military tensions.

“The sole way to induce a change in the North is communication and cooperative exchange. The defectors groups should be aware that freedom always carries responsibility with it,” said Moon.

For the long-term, his party is pushing for achieving peaceful unification on the Korean Peninsula, he said.

“The late President Kim Dae-jung’s Sunshine Policy was based on three principles ― establishing a strong national security posture, rejecting absorption unification, and proceeding step by step to achieve a peaceful union,” said Moon.

He added that the three rules still remain as a vision of the main opposition party.

Moon stressed that it is misunderstanding that the set of reconciliatory policies by late Kim neglected national security issues, while focusing only on communication.

“When the first Yeonpyeong Naval Battle in 1999 and the second in 2002 took place in the West Sea, the then Kim Dae-jung government and Roh Moo-hyun administration strongly punished the North’s provocation. It was different from previous governments that only issued warnings,” he said.

The NPAD leader said the ruling and opposition parties should join forces to achieve peaceful unification, saying his party is not opposed to President Park’s seemingly persuasive analogy of unification as a bonanza and her Dresden Initiative.

During a visit to the German city of Dresden in March, Park unveiled a package of proposals for humanity, co-prosperity and integration on the Korean Peninsula in a bid to lay the groundwork for unification.

“There is no reason to object to the initiative. But I want to emphasize that improving inter-Korean relations and mutual trust should always come first, as gradual peaceful unification will be the only way of reducing its enormous costs,” he said.

Moon became the interim leader of the largest opposition party on Sept. 19 tasked with putting the party, which suffered from factional discord and the aftermath of a crushing defeat in the July 30 by-elections, back on track.

His term will expire early next year, when the opposition holds a national convention to select a new chairman.

Follow Jun Ji-hye on Twitter @TheKopJihye