 |
By Jung Sung-ki
Staff Reporter
America's top military officer Monday visited South Korea to review issues of mutual concern including the transfer of operational control of Korean armed forces during wartime from the United States to South Korea, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said.
Adm. Michael G. Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, arrived in Seoul earlier in the day, one day before the Military Committee Meeting (MCM) with his South Korean counterpart Gen. Kim Kwan-jin, it said in a press release.
The MCM is the highest-level military talks between the two countries held annually. The results of the talks are discussed during a meeting of defense ministers from the two nations called the Security Consultative Meeting (SCM).
This year's SCM between Defense Minister Kim Jang-soo and U.S. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates is to take place in Seoul tomorrow.
Mullen, former chief of naval operations who took over the top U.S. military post Oct. 1, helped South Korea take back a Korean flag captured by U.S. Marines in a 1871 battle on a loan basis, a JCS spokesman said.
``Adm. Mullen supported the temporary return of the Korean flag as part of efforts to enhance ties between the two navies upon proposal by South Korean Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Song Young-moo during their talks last June,'' Lt. Col. Yoon Won-shik at the JCS' public affairs office said.
Mullen was quoted as saying that he was happy to hear that South Korean people see the return of the battle flag as meaningful.
Last month, the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, agreed to lend the giant banner to the National Palace Museum in Seoul, 136 years after the icon was seized by invading U.S. troops, in response to requests from South Korea's Cultural Heritage Administration. The agreement would cover up to 10 years.The United States captured the 4.5-square-meter flag yellow flag in 1871 when its Marines and Navy Blue Jackets overran the Korean fortress on Ganghwa Island, west of Seoul, in an attempt to open Korea to American trade, which Koreans call ``Shinmiyangyo.''
During the three-day military action, Koreans under the command of Gen. Uh Je-yeon fought hard against the U.S. expeditionary forces led by Rear Adm. John Rodgers. But only 20 of the more than 250 Koreans in the fort survived, while three Americans died.
Gen. Kim plans to present a picture frame carrying a mock-up of the ``Uh Je-yeon'' flag to Mullen in token of his gratitude, JCS officials said.
Earlier in the day, Mullen visited the 3rd Army Command in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, to review Korean troops' counter-fire mission against North Korea's long-range artillery, which were transferred from the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK), they said.
The USFK has handed over nine of 10 key security operations including the counter-fire mission and patrol of the Joint Security Area in the Demilitarized Zone dividing the two Koreas to the Korean military since 2004.
The mission transfer is in line with the USFK's troop reduction plan and South Korea's pursuit of building an independent defense posture. South Korea is to take over wartime operational control of its forces beginning April 17, 2012.
The U.S. admiral also visited the JSA, the U.S. 2nd Infantry Division, north of Seoul, and the USFK headquarters in central Seoul, officials said.
gallantjung@koreatimes.co.kr
