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A group of former defense ministers will issue a formal statement calling on the government to halt efforts to take over sole wartime operational control of its troops from the U.S. and demand a public apology from Defense Minister Yoon Kwang-ung on Thursday. An official with the Korea Retired Generals and Admirals Association flagged the statement on Wednesday.
Some 15 former defense ministers will attend Thursday¡¯s meeting, including Lee Sang-hoon, who led calls to drop the efforts in a meeting with Yoon on Aug. 2.
¡°Yoon promised to apologize to us and asked to delay the meeting originally scheduled last Monday,¡± Lee said. ¡°But he had taken no action by Wednesday afternoon. We¡¯re going to deliver a message seeking an apology from the incumbent defense minister and asking the government, parliament and the U.S. to halt discussion¡±on what the government calls the ¡°withdrawal¡± of operational control.
Lee said the attempt was ¡°untimely¡± when what South Korea really needs to do is strengthen its security after North Korea declared itself a nuclear power and the UN Security Council unanimously passed a resolution to impose sanctions on North Korea for its recent missile tests. ¡°The transfer of the operational control would hurt the alliance,¡± Lee added.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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