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President Roh Moo-hyun on Saturday reaffirmed his determination to take back wartime control of Korea¡¯s armed forces from the U.S. to achieve a ¡°cooperative independent defense.¡±
At a ceremony marking the 57th Armed Forces Day on Sunday, Roh said, "If we achieve military reform, we will be able to take back our right to exercise wartime command, and through it take responsibility for securing the peninsula and resurrect our military as a force that can live up to its name, truly sovereign and independent."
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President Roh Moo-hyun returns the commander's salute at a ceremony celebrating the 57th Armed Forces Day in Gyeryong military base on Saturday morning.
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On Independence Day 2003, Roh first vowed to recover command of Korean forces in an emergency from the U.S., with whom it rests under a controversial 1950 agreement, within 10 years.
Some observers expect discussion of the issue to come sooner than that, propelled by hopes of a peace framework for the Korean Peninsula to replace the armistice that ended the Korean War and still remains in force. Both Koreas have called for a peace treaty, and returning wartime command to South Korea could turn out to become one of the terms.
The call is not without its enemies, who say an independent defense would require enormous expenses and warn that North Korea could seize the opportunity to argue for a complete withdrawal of U.S. forces from the peninsula.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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