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The Korea-U.S. Security Consultative Meeting in Washington on Friday stood out because of the frank way differences between the two allies were made explicit in the press conference. A senior U.S. defense official squarely denied an announcement by a senior Korean military officer that a strategic order was given to specify that Washington will provide a nuclear umbrella for South Korea in response to North Korea¡¯s atomic weapons.
It took another seven-and-a-half hours after the meeting ended for the joint communiqué to come out, with officials working overtime after their superiors had left to hammer out the wording. Some say this was the worst-ever SCM due to a series of diplomatically rare events.
The Pentagon briefing room was all set for the distribution of the joint communiqué and the press conference at 1:30 p.m. on Friday, but Defense Minister Yoon Kwang-ung and his U.S. counterpart Donald Rumsfeld were not there. They appeared 20 minutes later, but without the communiqué. And where the annual SCM has always produced fulsome affirmations of the deep trust and strong partnership between the two countries, the tone was quite different this time.
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Korean defense Minister Yoon Kwang-ung talks with his U.S. counterpart Donald Rumsfeld in a joint press conference at the Pentagon in Washington on Friday./Reuters-Yonhap
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The two defense chiefs have often deferred to each other at the press conference, but this time there appeared to be a continuing tug of war over issues such as how the U.S. provision of a nuclear umbrella would be expressed. Right after the 40-minute press conference, a senior U.S. defense official said in a ¡°background briefing¡± that the joint communiqué would take more time because Korea was asking for more on the nuclear umbrella. He squarely denied statements to the press by the Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff that the earlier Military Committee Meeting produced agreement for the commander of the U.S. Forces Korea, Gen. Burwell Bell, to draw up a detailed nuclear strategy.
This was the first time in a decade the two allies were so much at odds. The tug-of-war continued over when Korea starts to exercise sole operational control of its troops. It was differences over that issue that delayed the joint communiqué until 9 p.m.
The allies finally agreed the handover of wartime operational control will happen between Oct. 15, 2009 and March 15, 2012 -- Washington¡¯s and Seoul¡¯s respective target dates. But sources say Korea is highly likely to get its way and exercise sole operational control from 2012. Washington also provided assurances of firm U.S. commitment and immediate support to Korea, including "continuation of the extended deterrence offered by the U.S. nuclear umbrella, consistent with the Mutual Defense Treaty" through the 14-point communiqué.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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