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The atmosphere brightened in the ruling Uri Party after President Roh Moo-hyun and his U.S. counterpart George W. Bush in principle agreed that Korea will exercise sole operational control of its troops. There have been growing worries over Roh¡¯s plan to take over wartime control of Korean troops since it will mean the end for Combined Forces Command and heighten security concerns. Intellectuals and activists have called for a halt to discussions on troop control handover.
The two presidents¡¯ meeting on Thursday ¡°put an end to unnecessary controversy over our plan to withdraw wartime operational control,¡± Uri Party chairman Kim Geun-tae said Friday. ¡°Now everybody realizes that conservative schemes to stir up our nation with security issues has only been a gimmick which serves no purpose.¡± He said he was worried not only by neo-conservatives in the U.S. but also by conservatives here. ¡°Those who love peace should unite as one,¡± he added.
The former Uri Party chairman Moon Hee-sang hailed the two leaders¡¯ announcement in Washington as ¡°a cool autumn breeze that dispels our worries and concerns completely.¡± ¡°There should be no such behavior as demonstrations in front of the National Assembly over the issue, which only divide our nation and harm the Korea-U.S. alliance.¡± Another Uri party lawmaker, Chang Young-dal, said, ¡°We should focus on the fact that the U.S. president made it clear that sole wartime operational control is not an issue that we should make a fuss about politically. The principle that the issue should not be subject to political disputes has been declared.¡±
Lawmaker Min Byung-doo said Korea-U.S. relations have changed ¡°from frank to friendly¡± thanks to the summit. ¡°President Bush came forward stronger in saying that the issue should not become a political one.¡± Party spokesman Woo Sang-ho commented, ¡°The scheme by conservatives to take advantage of security issues to win the election should come to an end.¡±
The ruling party decided to create a government agency that will handle the process of taking over operational control. Only a minority in the party, including lawmaker Jung Jang-sun, were more cautious. ¡°The issue has only started,¡± Jung said. ¡°The government should be flexible in addressing the issue and determine when to exercise sole wartime operational control so it coincides with a resolution to North Korea¡¯s nuclear program and a peace framework on the peninsula.¡±
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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