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The hot topic on the second day of a Chosun Ilbo-sponsored conference on the state of Korea-U.S. relations was the planned handover of wartime operational control of Korean troops to Seoul. The Washington conference titled ¡°Korea and the United States 2006¡± is jointly sponsored by the Chosun Ilbo and the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Korean participants expressed serious concerns over the issue, saying that the dismantling of Combined Forces Command the move entails will weaken deterrence of North Korea and send wrong signal to Pyongyang. But U.S. participants said the handover is part of the alliance¡¯s natural evolution.
Former foreign minister Han Seung-joo, who was the Roh administration¡¯s first ambassador to the U.S. said if the U.S. hands over wartime operational control to Seoul before North Korea¡¯s nuclear and missile issues are resolved, the U.S. would be perceived as less willing to defend South Korea. Han said South Koreans believe it was the Roh administration that proposed the troop control handover but Washington¡¯s hurry to get it done by 2009 has to do with closer security relations between Washington and Tokyo. It seems that the U.S. has changed its evaluation of South Korea¡¯s strategic value, he said.
¡°If the U.S. turns over wartime operational control, it is only natural to expect that there will be additional reductions in the USFK,¡± said Prof. Kim Seung-hwan of Myongji University. Kim stressed that stationing a significant size of U.S. troops in South Korea is extremely important in deterring North Korea both psychologically and symbolically. He said the timetable for the handover should be delayed or a thorough review on how to deter the North should precede it. Prof. Hyun In-taek of Korea University said that many Koreans worry that the turnover will eventually create a series of serious ripple effect, which will lead to a collapse of the Korea-US alliance. Prof. Paik Jin-hyun of Seoul National University said the reason more than half of Koreans worry about the matter is that there has been no ¡°strategic¡± dialogue between the two countries over how the alliance would operate in the future.
Among Americans, the National Security Council¡¯s former senior director for Asian affairs Michael Green said ripple effects would not be automatic and could be controlled by both countries. The issue was whether the ¡°timing¡± is appropriate -- what strategic signals the handover will send to North Korea while the nuclear and missile problems are unresolved. U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill said the turnover was part of efforts to establish a command structure that maintains a strong deterrence on the Korean Peninsula. Director for Asian Affairs at the National Security Council Victor Cha said the handover meant neither that the U.S. is abandoning South Korea nor that South Korea is somehow reclaiming its sovereignty. He stressed that the U.S.¡¯ pledge to defend South Korea remains firm.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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