By Jun Ji-hye
Lawmakers from rival parties locked horns on Monday over Seoul and Washington’s recent agreement to delay South Korea’s takeover of wartime operational control (OPCON) of its troops from the United States.
At a National Assembly interpellation session, lawmakers also clashed over the possible deployment of key interceptors for a U.S.-led missile defense (MD) system on the Korean Peninsula.
Prime Minister Chung Hong-won, Defense Minister Han Min-koo and Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se attended the session, which focused on national security and foreign affairs issues.
Rep. Shon In-chun of the ruling Saenuri Party said the decision of Minister Han and his U.S. counterpart Chuck Hagel to delay the transition of wartime OPCON was an inevitable choice as North Korea had shown no sign of giving up its nuclear ambitions.
“The military should secure a sufficient budget in order to establish more effective defense capabilities,” she said. “Without securing a budget, it is just irresponsible to say South Korea can regain wartime OPCON in the mid-2020s.”
On Oct. 23, allies agreed to postpone the transfer of wartime OPCON until South Korea’s military capability against nuclear and missile threats from North Korea is secured. At the time, Minister Han noted that the transition could take place in the mid-2020s as “Seoul will have developed its own Kill Chain pre-emptive strike and Korean Air and Missile Defense (KAMD) systems by that time.”
Rep. Shim Jae-kwon of the New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD) argued that the decision amounted to an abandonment of national sovereignty.
“The North’s nuclear program and Seoul’s wartime OPCON are two separate matters,” he said. “The decision just showed that Seoul depends too much on foreign countries. The agreement poured cold water on the nation’s efforts to restore its military sovereignty.”
Regarding Washington’s envisioned THAAD deployment in South Korea, Rep. Yoo Seong-min of the governing party argued that the battery should come as soon as possible to defend the Korean people.
THAAD stands for Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, the installation of which would provide an integral part of the U.S. missile shield aimed at neutralizing North Korean ballistic missiles.
The U.S. has repeatedly shown its desire to deploy THAAD at its bases in South Korea, which has been widely regarded as a Washington attempt to get its Asian ally to join the MD system and contain the influence of China and Russia.
Rep. Park Byeong-seug of the NPAD claimed that THAAD deployment would probably cause confusion in the Northeast Asian region, as protests from Beijing and Moscow could be expected.
“The government should be cautious before making a decision,” he said.
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