U.S. Forces Korea Commander Gen. Burwell Bell in a hearing at the U.S. House Armed Services Committee in Washington on Wednesday. /AFP-Yonhap

“North Korea is reported to be pursuing a [uranium-based] weapons development program as an alternative route to nuclear weapons,” Bell said. He said such a program “could provide weapons-grade material even if North Korea agrees to halt plutonium processing." The remarks come amid reports that U.S. intelligence officials are no longer certain how far any North Korean uranium enrichment program may have progressed.

Bell told senators the U.S. has asked South Korea to “fully adopt the provisions of the Proliferation Security Initiative," a U.S.-led drive to intercept vessels suspected of carrying weapons of mass destruction. "It is the United States’ desire that the Republic of Korea fully participate in this initiative."

The USFK chief cited worries over the reduction of troops and military service cuts in accordance with Seoul's Defense Reform Plan 2020. "It is our hope that [South Korea] carefully consider these large force cuts unless they are matched by similar North Korean reductions,” he said.

The statement was unexpected, since Bell neither discussed the matter with Korea’s Defense Ministry nor notified it. The 2020 Defense Reform Plan envisions cutting South Korean troops from about 680,000 to 500,000 by 2020, and Seoul recently decided to shorten compulsory military service by six months, from 24 for Army and Marines to 18 by 2014. There had so far been no overt negative comment from U.S. military leaders over the defense reform plan, which was announced in September 2005, apparently because President Roh Moo-hyun gave top priority to it over other defense policies. A source said, "So far, the U.S. military has expressed worries about it, but only below the surface. But Bell, an outspoken military leader, has sent it to the surface."

North Korean soldiers engage in a drill in response to Korea-U.S. joint military exercises called Reception, Staging, Onward Movement and Integration(RSOI) on March 22, 2006 in Haeju, Hwanghae Province. /EPA

But Bell was more moderate than in the past in his assessment of the military threat North Korea poses. "Economic difficulties have had a debilitating impact on training levels and conventional force readiness over the past decade. It does not enjoy the military support that it once did from either China or Russia. It is doubtful the North Korean military in its current state could sustain offensive operations against the South,” he said.

Bell expressed fear that that humanitarian aid and other project support from South Korea in the North are diverted for military purposes. Turning to perceptions among South Koreans of the threat, Bells said, “As memories of American sacrifices in the Korean War fade, Korean citizens, seeking what they see as a more equal alliance relationship, question the importance of our long-standing alliance. Many raise the issue of [South Korean] sovereignty, and a desire for what they characterize as more self-reliance and independence."

(englishnews@chosun.com )