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The U.S. Congress has asked the Department of Defense and the State Department to report on chances of reviving UN Command in Korea, a body nominally still made up of countries that took part on the South¡¯s side in the Korean War. The move comes in the midst of plans to dissolve Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command, return wartime operational control of forces to Korea and other signs of a lesser role for the U.S. forces in the country.
Under Article 1221 of the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2007, which passed the Senate on June 22, the secretaries of defense and state must issue a joint report on the matter to committees in both houses of Congress.
The act outlines five areas the report must cover, focusing on analysis of what political and military effect it would have on the U.S. Forces Korea if member nations of U.N. Command put troops on the peninsula. The report will cover contributions and roles of all UNC member countries, which have been inactive for decades, efforts of the U.S. to increase UNC responsibility, the possibility of convincing other member countries to increase their numbers as a peacetime deterrent against the North, which countries could be persuaded, and whether adding troops would be of diplomatic help in resolving the North Korean nuclear threat.
One of the conditions of the armistice that halted the Korean War was that the UNC has to approve any freight or equipment that crosses through the DMZ -- a question that would become pertinent if the reconnected inter-Korean railways ever start operating. UNC members the U.K., Australia, and New Zealand have signaled they would increase the number of staff officers in Korea in response to a recent UNC request.
U.S. Forces Commander Burwell Bell earlier told a congressional hearing he planned to revive the international alliance by increasing international staff at the UNC, which is now effectively in sole U.S. control, writing up emergency and operational plans, and training observation.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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