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U.S. Forces Korea Commander Walter Sharp on Monday said the USFK will maintain its current troop levels after Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command is dissolved and Seoul takes over complete control of its troops from Washington.
After laying a wreath at the Korean War Memorial in Washington, D.C. on the occasion of the annual meeting of the Association of United States Army, Sharp said the USFK will maintain its current level of troops until the near future as U.S. President George W. Bush promised. By that, he said he meant a "considerable period¡± even after wartime operational control has been transferred.
At a summit at Camp David in April, President Lee Myung-bak agreed with Bush to maintain 28,500 troops here, revising the previous plan to cut numbers to 25,000 by the end of this year.
Sharp added he was convinced after watching changes in Korea over the four months since he arrived that Korean officers and servicemen have sufficient professionalism and ability to take over wartime operational control on April 17, 2012.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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