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Sixteen former defense ministers and nine retired generals on Thursday expressed dismay at President Roh Moo-hyun¡¯s remarks in an interview Wednesday that suggested Korea can withdraw wartime control of its troops from the U.S. any time. The president had told the Yonhap news agency Korea is capable of exercising sole wartime operational control of its troops ¡°even if we get it back now¡± instead of leaving it in the hands of the U.S.-led Combined Forces Command.
In a statement, the ex-defense chiefs called on the government to seek public consent and parliamentary approval for the move, saying the transfer of operational command is a vital security matter and will cost the taxpayer an astronomical amount of money.
Former defense minister Kim Seong-eun said when he asked the former U.S. Forces Korea commander Gen. Leon LaPorte who first proposed the handing over wartime operational control, LaPorte said it was not the U.S. that wanted to hand it over, but the Korean government repeatedly insisted on withdrawing it. Kim quoted LaPorte as saying Washington told Seoul to take back the control if it wanted since a refusal could lead to an outcry from anti-American group in Korea and give the impression the USFK wanted to stay in Korea as long as possible.
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Former defense ministers and retired generals announce a statement at the Korean Veterans Association on Thursday slamming President Roh Moo-hyun¡¯s remark that Korea can withdraw wartime control of its troops from the U.S. anytime.
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¡°The Constitution says the government must seek approval from parliament when Korea concludes a treaty limiting the nation¡¯s sovereignty,¡± the chief presidential security secretary Song Min-soon countered. ¡°But withdrawing wartime operational control of our troops from the U.S. is surely the opposite,¡± making this not an issue that requires parliamentary approval. ¡°But I think that we need to brief the National Assembly appropriately on how the issue is progressing since it is a national issue the public are deeply interested in.¡± Song also indicated that some of the former ministers have changed their tune. ¡°We have sought to withdraw wartime operational control from the U.S. since 1990, and some of those who now say that regaining it is unfeasible have participated in that process.¡±
Meanwhile, a U.S. official involved in bilateral consultations on the issue Wednesday called ¡°highly inappropriate¡± President Roh¡¯s insistence on using the word ¡°withdrawal¡± instead of ¡°exercising sole control¡± of Koreans troops. He said it seemed Roh was deliberately using the term to give South Koreans the impression that the nation is taking something that belongs to it out of U.S. hands. The official added Roh was wrong to say South Korea is the only nation that does not have operational control of its own troops since some NATO members such as the U.K. and Germany also agreed to transfer operational control to the NATO commander-in-chief in crises.
The U.S. official said the reason Roh portrayed almost all military issues between the two allies in the context of Korea¡¯s sovereignty despite the fact that wartime operational control is purely a military concept and has nothing to do with sovereignty was an attempt to appeal to voters.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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