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Seoul and Washington have agreed on an early transfer of selected military missions from U.S. troops stationed on the peninsula to South Korean forces.
The agreement was made Thursday at the two-day, third round of the South Korea-U.S. military meetings, themed "Future of the Alliance Policy Initiative," in Honolulu.
The two sides decided to complete by 2006 the transfer of eight missions designed to specifically deal with North Korean threats in the event of emergencies in the region.
The job of manning the Joint Security Area will be completely handed over to the South Korean Army by 2006. The relocation of the Yongsan army base and the consolidation and rearranging of the U.S. 2nd Infantry Division will all be completed by 2006, earlier than expected.
The job of guarding the JSA will be handed over to the South Korean Army from the end of 2004 to early 2005, after which all 600 guard unit members will be South Korean soldiers. This is significant because the South Korean Army will finally be responsible for guarding its entire side of the Demilitarized Zone for the first time since the armistice agreement was signed 53 years ago. However, in order to maintain the role of the United Nations, the United Nations Command will still have some control.
The South Korea and U.S. officials leading the talks also agreed on transferring the other tasks by 2006, including protecting against over-sea incursions by North Korean special forces, mine clearing and search and rescue operations. But the sides failed to reach agreement on a strategy to defend against North Korea's long-range missiles; the matter will be rediscussed during the next conference in September.
Both nations agreed on relocating the Yongsan base by 2006, and decided to establish a task force with Defense Ministry and Foreign Ministry officials from both countries. The agreement is to be signed before October.
Both countries also agreed to progress with the relocation of the 2nd Infantry Division in two stages. During the first stage, the USFK camps in Dongducheon will be combined and rearranged with the bases in Euijeongbu. During the second stage, bases will be relocated to south of the Han River. This stage will be reached carefully in consideration of the security, political and economic situation in Korea.
Both nations said they would discuss at their next Security Consultative Meetings examining a joint right to command to be implemented in 2005.
The talks were held at the Hawaii-based Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies.
(Yoo Yong-won, kysu@chosun.com )
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