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The Korean and U.S. defense ministers have agreed to supplement the "Concept of Operations Plan (CONPLAN) 5029" plan for a joint response to sudden changes in North Korea, but not to put the plan into "operation plan (OPLAN)" format. While the concept of operations plan contains plans for responding to sudden changes in North Korea and rough blueprints of military forces needed, the operational plan contains specific military force deployment programs like the formation of operational units.
In January, the Korean National Security Council suspended discussions at Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command (CFC) for developing CONPLAN 5029 into an operation plan, inviting strong displeasure from the United States.
Our government opposes an operation plan on grounds that it "could violate our sovereignty." This is because the operation plan being promoted by the CFC regards a contingency in North Korea as a wartime situation and calls for U.S. forces to cope with it exercising operational control. Operational control over South Korean forces is exercised by South Korea in peacetime, and by the United States in wartime. Our government wants to exercise operational control and play a leading role in coping with a contingency in North Korea.
Many security experts, however, have expressed doubts as to whether South Korea could cope with an abrupt change in North Korea on its own. Take intelligence gathering capabilities, for instance. South Korea¡¯s few reconnaissance planes cannot watch over rear areas in North Korea, and Seoul would eventually have no choice but to rely on U.S. satellite intelligence.
Who should exercise operational control should be dealt with after measures to respond to sudden changes in North Korea have been studied; it¡¯s out of its proper order to begin discussions based on the premise that ¡°we have to exercise operational control.¡±
Another reason why the people of this administration are negative toward the operation plan arises from their psychology that, "Discussion about sudden changes in North Korea would provoke the North," or, ¡°Isn¡¯t the U.S. discussing policies for sudden changes in the North because it wants these changes to happen?¡±
Security calls for preparing countermeasures against "worst possible scenarios" and minimizing damage when they unfortunately take place. It is an extremely irresponsible attitude for the ruling forces responsible for the national security of a country to regard a discussion for mapping out countermeasures itself disturbing or taboo on the pretext that the situation is not one they want.
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