Wartime Control Delayed to 2012
I sure hope this isn’t true:
South Korea will reclaim wartime operational control of its forces from the United States as of April 17, 2012, the two countries announced Thursday.
The South Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command (CFC) will consequently be disbanded as of the same day, according to a joint press statement issued by South Korean Defense Minister Kim Jang-soo and U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates.
The agreement resolves one of the most controversial bilateral issues as Seoul and Washington continue to redefine a military alliance that dates back to the 1950-1953 Korean War, when American soldiers fought with South Korea against North Korea’s invasion.
I have been hoping the wartime control would be resolved by January, 2010 to coincide with the Camp Humphreys relocation. If this is true the Pentagon has once again given in to Korean governmental delay tactics. How likely is it that the wartime control handover is going to happen in 2012? The Pentagon sure doesn’t sound to confident:
The U.S. will accept Korea’s request to hand over wartime operational control of Korean troops to Seoul only in 2012, not 2009 as Washington had hoped. In return, Washington is asking Seoul to guarantee it will not change its mind again no matter who wins the presidential election here in December. That would put paid to hopes in Korea that a new president could postpone the handover.
A government source on Thursday said Korea and the U.S. will highly likely agree on the exact timing of the handover in bilateral defense ministerial talks on Friday. The U.S. is asking Korea for “tangible measures†to earn its trust, citing Korea’s earlier failure to immediately implement a bilateral agreement when the situation changed.
Well they shouldn’t feel to confident because the Koreans are masters at delay tactics. The failure to implement a bilateral agreement that the article is referring to is when the Korean government made prior deals to fund USFK and the Camp Humphreys relocation. However, once Secretary Rumsfeld was dumped the Korean government jumped on this opportunity to end the deal and play more delay games. Even worse was the fact that the South Korean government decided to send more money to fund North Korea than they are willing to provide for the up keep of USFK.Â
Now if this delay yet again does happen remember these words from Korean President Roh Moo-hyun, not even a year ago:
President Roh Moo-hyun on Wednesday said Korea is capable of exercising sole wartime operational control of its troops “even if we get it back now.†In an interview with the Yonhap news agency, the president said, “The South Korean military’s capability is sufficient and it can get U.S. military support."
You can read more over at Lost Nomad and One Free Korea.
We'll have to change April Fools' Day to match.
Sorry to break it to you duds, but it's true.
You're staying until 2012.
What would happen if the American's decided unilaterly in 2009 :
"Hey guys, from now on, if there's a war, You're in charge".
What would the Koreans say then? What have the American's got to lose?
Jon,
The problem with that is that USFK complies with signed agreements. USFK is not like the Korean government and backs out of signed agreements when it is in their interest to do so. If USFK did in fact sign this agreement it is locked in stone 2012, however don't be surprised when in the future the Korean government tries to delay it even further.
2012 will also be after 2 US presidential elections — which means the possibility of seeing 3 different mind-sets of our committment to Korea in office.
Given the nature of the US-SK alliance, and the fact we seem to be shifting to the status quo again, the 2012 transfer date and all else that isn't slated to occur before 2009 or so is just a wish list like I used to make out before Christmas every year before I grew the fuck up….
I guess I'll have to set aside money for the anti-US/USFK website in my will….
Ah yes, I see the problem.
I've been in Korea for a few years now and it does not surprise myself, that the decision that was made is what it is. After talking with a housing dept. manager, he stated that the post we prematurely turned over like, Essayons, Kyle, Sears, and Laguardia, has been turned over for more than a year and that the Korean govt has yet to assume the post, and sever our lease agreements. Basically we still have the posts, and they are not getting turned in on the excelerated time schedule, but back on the same schedule that had existed. It sounds to me like all this mission postering is just the same…. just talk. I seen the ROK assuming roles along a timeline that I think no-one would want to take credit for, good or bad. It is like the plan to turn Korea over has become a monster that has its own agenda, and its own course, and maybe no-one is in control of a true decision to do anything.
You could argue the primary reason why SK hasn't taken over the bases we've left yet is the environmental clean up payment issue.
I know that was the reason a year or two ago. That was in the news a good bit – about how hugely contaminated the abandonned bases were and what a national outrage it was that Korea had to pay for all or most of the cleanup costs, and how Korea was going to renegociate that point before they took them over.
I thought USFK had put its foot down on that one because of the amount of money it was costing to secure the bases with nobody on them but the Koreans refusing to take over.
I guess the foot going down didn't really do anything….
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Wait, the ROKs reneging or back-tracking on a supposedly done deal?
Oh no, they've NEVER pulled a stunt like that before, NEVER!
Seems like as much as has changed since I left there for good in '03, so much is still STANDARD
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