President lauds alliance in CFC visit
President Moon Jae-in shouts “Let’s go together” with South Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command (CFC) Commander Gen. Vincent K. Brooks, left, and National Security Office chief Chung Eui-yong during a visit to the CFC headquarters in Yongsan, Seoul, Tuesday. Yonhap
By Kim Rahn
The President said Tuesday that the South Korea-U.S. alliance has laid the groundwork for peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula, during a visit to the South Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command (CFC).
It was Moon Jae-in’s first visit to the Yongsan based CFC since his May 10 inauguration.
His inspection comes amid uncomfortable relations between the two allies following Seoul’s investigation into alleged procedural flaws in the deployment of a U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery here, and consequent delay in the full installation of the anti-missile system.
Moon met with CFC Commander Gen. Vincent K. Brooks, Deputy Commander Gen. Leem Ho-young, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Lee Sun-jin, and U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) Deputy Commander Lt. Gen. Thomas W. Bergeson.
Other participants included Defense Minister Han Min-koo, senior presidential secretary for political affairs Jun Byung-hun, National Security Office (NSO) head Chung Eui-yong and NSO first deputy chief Lee Sang-chul.
Moon said the South Korean and U.S. armed forces fought together to contribute to world peace, and the alliance has been recently playing a key role in deterring North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats.
“The alliance is expanding from military and security issues to social, cultural and economic fields, and the CFC has been the center of the alliance,” Moon said.
He added that Pyongyang is continuing its provocative actions, and the recent test-firing of an anti-ship cruise missile was notable because it could be a direct threat to the Korean and the U.S. navies.
“We have to establish firm defensive preparations against the North’s missile threats. We also have to produce a change of stance in the North based on the strong South Korea-U.S. alliance,” he said.
As one of his campaign pledges, Moon vowed to take back wartime operational control (OPCON) of South Korean forces from the U.S. during his five-year term if he was elected. The OPCON transfer, which was initially scheduled for December 2015, was delayed until late 2020 by the Park Geun-hye administration.
If the transfer is made, the CFC, which has a U.S. general as commander and a Korean one as deputy commander, may undergo structural changes as well.
Meanwhile, Vice Defense Minister Suh Choo-suk visited the THAAD deployment site in Seongju, North Gyeongsang Province, Sunday, in preparation for a full-scale environmental impact survey there, according to the ministry.
“He looked around the site to grasp the situation surrounding the deployment,” a ministry official said.
The former defense researcher made the visit four days after being appointed to the post, showing the survey is a priority for the government.
In late May, Cheong Wa Dae said the ministry deliberately did not tell the new government that four additional THAAD launchers had been delivered to Korea in addition to the two already in operation. It said it also suspects the ministry divided the planned deployment site into two before providing it to the USFK to avoid regulations on the environmental impact survey.
Following the findings, Moon ordered a full-scale survey, which means a nearly one-year delay to the full deployment of the missile defense system. Suh is in charge of the ministry’s plan for the survey, which will be discussed by a taskforce comprised of related ministries.
The discussion on the survey is expected to speed up if minister nominee Song Young-moo passes a National Assembly confirmation hearing and is officially appointed.
In the meantime, U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Thomas Shannon came to Korea for a three-day visit Tuesday to discuss details of a summit between Moon and U.S. President Donald Trump slated for later this month, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Meeting with First Vice Foreign Minister Lim Sung-nam and other officials, Shannon is expected to discuss not only the summit agenda but also the THAAD issue and North Korea’s nuclear program.