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| President Moon Jae-in poses with outgoing U.S. Forces Korea Commander Gen. Robert Abrams after conferring the Tongil Medal of the Order, the highest national security merit, on Abrams at Cheong Wa Dae in this July 1 photo. Joint Press Corps |
By Kang Seung-woo
Deep-seated tension between the South Korean government and U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) is coming into public view, as a former American four-star general has belittled the Moon Jae-in administration's security pledges, struck back by Cheong Wa Dae and the defense ministry.
Robert Abrams, who led the USFK from 2018 to 2021, told Voice of America, Saturday (local time), that South Korea's military capabilities were not sufficient to take over wartime operational control (OPCON) of South Korean forces from the United States, while questioning the intentions of the Moon administration's push for an end-of-war declaration.
In 2014, Seoul and Washington agreed upon a conditions-based OPCON transition, and President Moon had sought to complete the task before his term ends in May 2022, although the plan has fallen through due to a lack of adequate assessment caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
"What we do say publicly is that condition one is the Republic of Korea must acquire the critical military capabilities to lead the combined defense that translates into 26 discrete systems. In addition, there's a couple of additional tasks for condition one, which includes certifying that the future CFC (Combined Forces Command) led by a Korean four-star general would be capable of leading the combined defense," Abrams said. The Republic of Korea is the official name of South Korea.
"Condition two is the Republic of Korea must acquire a strategic strength capability and develop and field a Korean integrated air and missile defense capability. And that one frankly, we're furthest behind on."
Regarding the suggestion to formally declare an end to the 1950-53 Korean War, the retired general called the plan into question, saying, "I'm very unclear what it is we're trying to accomplish by declaring an end of war, but I think, any premature declaration of an end of war, you open up the possibility for people who will then claim if the war is ended, then it's time for us to revisit some of those Security Council resolutions from the summer of 1950. And, and then, then it becomes what we call here a slippery slope."
Since Moon resurrected his proposal about the declaration in September, South Korean and U.S. diplomats have met with each other frequently to discuss the move, but some are critical of the Moon administration being too hasty in its drive.
In response, Park Soo-hyun, senior presidential secretary for public communication, expressed displeasure, Sunday, with the former USFK commander's criticism.
"I am confident that the Moon administration has worked harder on boosting military capabilities than any other government, as illustrated by Korea being the world's sixth-most powerful military and its nurturing of the local defense industry," he wrote on Facebook.
Defense ministry spokesman Boo Seung-chan also said, "While South Korea and the U.S. came up with tangible results from their latest Security Consultative Meeting (on Dec. 2) through close coordination between the allies, we cannot figure out his intentions."
He added that it was not appropriate for the ministry to comment on the private opinions of a retired general.
Tensions between the South Korean government and Abrams are nothing new, as he frequently spoke against the Moon administration's OPCON plan and complained of a lack of combined training between the allies, scaled down in part due to both sides' hopes to engage North Korea diplomatically.
Gen. Paul LaCamera, Abrams' successor, also expressed his objection in November, saying the OPCON plan needs some adjustment.
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