Category: US-ROK Alliance

Is anyone that has been paying attention to this issue surprised by this announcement?:

The United States on Thursday agreed to maintain wartime control of South Korean troops in the event of an attack by North Korea for the foreseeable future, delaying the transfer of authority to Seoul that had been scheduled for 2015.

Speaking to reporters at the Pentagon, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said that delaying the handoff “will ensure that when the transfer does occur, Korean forces have the necessary defensive capabilities to address an intensifying North Korean threat.”

The agreement to delay the transfer has been discussed for more than a year and comes at the request of the Seoul government. There is no longer a deadline for the transfer; instead, it will be based on the progress of the South Korean military and the ongoing situation there, including tensions with North Korea and its ongoing nuclear ambitions.  [Associated Press via a reader tip]

You can read more at the link, but the only thing I am surprised about is that it took this long to reach this conclusion.  One down side I see with this is that the ROKs now have less incentive now to purchase equipment to replace capabilities the US is providing for them.  Anyway this whole OPCON issue had little to do with military strategy and more to do with being a reactionary response to Korean nationalism.  I had reach way back in the archives, but ROK Heads can read how this whole issue began from this 2005 posting.

Going by John Kerry’s statement it appears that US troops will remain in South Korea for decades to come because the North Koreans have no intention of ever denuclearizing.  Why would they?:

Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se has played down U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s remarks about the possible downsizing of the U.S military in South Korea.

“Any discussion on reducing the number of U.S. troops in South Korea should be dealt in the future when the denuclearization of North Korea is realized,” he told reporters during a visit to Washington D.C., Wednesday (local time.). “I think he meant to urge North Korea to step forward promptly for denuclearization.”

Yun and Defense Minister Han Min-koo are in the U.S. to attend the-called “2+2 meeting” with their U.S. counterparts, Kerry and Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel in the U.S. capital, Thursday.

Kerry made his remarks before flying back to Washington from Berlin where he held a joint press conference with German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

“We’ve said from day one that if North Korea wants to rejoin the community of nations, it knows how to do it. It can come to the talks prepared to discuss denuclearization,” Kerry said, according to a transcript provided by the State Department. “And the U.S. is fully prepared ― if they do that and begin that process, we are prepared to begin the process of reducing the need for American forces and presence in the region because the threat itself would then be reduced.” [Korea Times]

You can read more at the link.

Next week the OPCON transfer talks are scheduled to continue:

Korea and the United States will hold a high-level defense meeting in Seoul next week to discuss the timing of the planned wartime operational control (OPCON) transfer, the defense ministry announced, Friday.

The Korea-U.S. Integrated Defense Dialogue (KIDD) is scheduled for Tuesday ahead of next month’s Security Consultative Meeting (SCM) in Washington, where the two nations’ defense ministers are expected to agree on the delayed handover.

The talks will be led by Ryu Je-seung, chief of the Office of Planning and Coordination at the defense ministry, and David Helvey, deputy assistant secretary of defense for East Asia.

“They will discuss proper conditions and the timeframe for the transfer,” the defense ministry said in a statement.

With the OPCON transfer slated for December 2015, Seoul asked the U.S. in May of last year to reconsider the process, citing continuing threats from North Korea. Then Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin and U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel agreed in October that the handover should be conducted depending on conditions on the Korean Peninsula, indicating the U.S. has all but agreed to Korea’s request.

The Korean side is reportedly attempting to push back the transfer five to seven years, until somewhere between 2020 and 2022.  [Korea Times]

You can read more at the link.

That is what this Yonhap News report is claiming:

South Korea and the United States have agreed to make the Combined Forces Command (CFC) exempt from their plan to relocate U.S. troops until Seoul retakes wartime command of its forces from Washington, sources here said Thursday.

Seoul and Washington had been at odds over whether to move the CFC headquarters and its affiliated forces to Pyeongtaek, some 70 kilometers south of the capital, in accordance with their 2004 agreement to move the Yongsan Garrison, the sprawling U.S. military headquarters in central Seoul, and the 2nd Infantry Division stationed north of Seoul to the southern town by the end of 2016.

“The two sides have agreed to maintain the CFC in Yongsan, where it is currently located, until we regain the operational control (OPCON) from the U.S.,” a senior Seoul government source said, requesting anonymity.

The CFC, which has the command over South Korean and U.S. troops stationed here, was to be disbanded upon Seoul’s OPCON transfer in December 2015, but a bilateral agreement to delay the transfer has led the CFC to remain intact.

“Albeit temporarily, we, in fact, accepted the U.S. request to stay them in Seoul. The U.S. has proposed the CFC be an exception for the relocation plan, citing smooth policy coordination between the allies,” the source said.

“Though the U.S. wants to have most of its forces under the CFC stay in Yongsan, we have conveyed our position that it would not be possible. Discussions are under way about the size of the remaining forces,” he added.  [Yonhap]

You can read more at the link, but the ROK Defense Ministry are denying the report.  If true it will be interesting to see how large of a footprint will remain on Yongsan and will the commissary, PX, and other facilities remain open as well?

The Chinese have been complaining about the deployment of THAAD to Korea and it looks like the Korean government is going to try and alleviate their concerns:

The government is moving to ease China’s concerns about the possible deployment of U.S. missile interceptors on Korean soil.

National Security Office (NSC) chief Kim Kwan-jin is expected to undertake this hard mission on a visit to Beijing to meet with State Councilor Yang Jiechi in October.

Government officials have recently dropped hints that they would not object to the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) plan to bring in a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system.

The advanced missile-defense system that has a range of up to lometers is regarded as an indispensable element of the U.S. missile defense system.

“The NSC chief will try and acquire China’s understanding on THAAD,” a government official said. The resumption of six-party talks aimed at stopping North Korea’s nuclear programs would also be on the agenda, he said.  [Korea Times]

You can read more at the link.

I have always liked this idea of a combined division and it appears it will become a reality:

South Korea and the United States have agreed to establish a combined division of their troops next year that will be tasked with carrying out wartime operations, Seoul’s defense ministry said Thursday.

The unit, slated to be organized in the first half of next year, will be comprised of the U.S. 2nd Infantry Division and a South Korean brigade-level unit, according to the ministry.

The 2nd Division commander plans to head the newly-made joint staff of the combined unit, with South Korea’s brigadier general-level officer to be its vice chief, the ministry said, adding that an equal number of dozens of service personnel from the two sides will form the leadership.

“While being operated in a separate fashion in peacetime, the 2nd Division and the Korean brigade will carry out joint exercises when necessary,” a ministry official said, asking not to be named.

In time of war, the two entities will get together to carry out diverse “strategic operations” such as eliminating weapons of mass destruction as well as civil missions against North Korea, he noted, without elaborating further.  [Yonhap]

You can read more at the link, but the article says this will not impact the relocation of the 2ID to Camp Humphreys.  However, I wonder how it is going to impact the residual combat power in Area 1 that has long been discussed.

Due to the on going US beef protests, the long chain of anti-US protests, as well as the underlying anti-Americanism prevalent in Korean society, many people have advocated for the immediate withdrawal of USFK.

The immediate withdrawal of USFK is something easier said then done. Listed below is my list of reasons why I believe an immediate pull out of USFK is not practical and thus will not happen anytime soon.

Take note that my list is no particular order of importance. Also this is my own personal opinion so do not take it as any indication of what the USFK command thinks on this issue. Take it for what it is worth and feel free to debate it in the comments section.

Korean Economic Impact – First of all you have all the jobs that Korean workers hold on USFK bases which would be lost if USFK pulled out. You also have all the businesses outside the camps that are another example of ways money is made from USFK.  Blackmarketing, illegal gambling, golf course scams, gate scams, housing scams, shady contracts, etc. are examples of ways that Koreans are making millions off the USFK presence in Korea.  So much money would be lost that Korean politicians would feel enormous pressure to keep USFK in Korea.

Impact on Foreign Investment – With Korea already hurting for foreign investment the loss of USFK would create another major shock to Korean attempts to draw international investors. Think about if you were going to invest your money in Korea, wouldn’t you feel better if your investment was insured by the US military presence in the country?

Korean Defense Spending – Currently the Korean government gets state of the art military capabilities courtesy of the USFK presence in their country for the small USFK upkeep fee that they pay every year that mostly goes to pay the salaries of Korean workers anyway. The Korean government has been able to put off paying the full amount to pay for their own defense for decades and are eager to keep things that way.  This allows the ROKs to take advantage of superior US technology such as command & control, intelligence, and missile defense systems that would normally be too cost prohibitive for them to pursue.

Loss of Korean Political Influence in Washington – For a country considered a middle power around the world Korea’s has an inflated importance within Washington for a nation of its size and stature should have because of the US-ROK alliance.  Korea has one of the few four star commands in the US military with the USFK commander having direct access to senior policy makers in the United States. Losing USFK would also mean a huge loss in political influence in Washington which the Korean government does not want.

Moderating American Reactions to North Korea – The Korean government knows that as long as American troops are exposed to an attack by North Korea that this moderates a US response to a North Korean provocation.  The 2ID and even soldiers on Yongsan are easy targets for a North Korean response and this tends to moderate American reactions to North Korean brinkmanship. This was one of the main reasons why the ROK government has reservations about the USFK transformation plan.  By consolidating troops on Camp Humphreys which is outside the North Korean artillery range, an American military response to North Korean brinkmanship is a greater possibility.

Lack of Unit Space in the US – Related to logistics is the fact that 27,500 soldiers that are currently in USFK plus their families would need a post back in the US that has room for them to redeploy to. When 2BCT redeployed to Iraq I knew guys that were living in rented college dorm rooms because Ft. Carson didn’t physically have room for them yet. The post hadn’t anticipated the soldiers being posted at the facility in order to build enough barracks for them. In the US you have units coming back from overseas that are living in squalor, ghetto like conditions because they are a waiting for units to deploy overseas in order to take their barracks space. This is caused by the growth of the military, base closings, as well as the prior force cut backs in Korea and the major force cut backs in Germany.

Camp Closeout Procedures – If USFK were to pull out all the camps currently occupied, all the camps would need to be cleaned and inspected before redeployment. Having personally been involved in the closeouts of smaller camps in Uijongbu I can tell you this process took about 4-6 months for smaller camps to get done. I can only imagine how long it will take to get a huge installation like Yongsan inspected and handed over.

Political Apathy in Washington – The fact of the matter is that very few politicians back in the US know much of anything about Korea. Much of their perceptions of Korea is based off the US-ROK alliance that was forged in blood during the Korean War. There have been few politicians in Washington that “get it” in regards to Korean affairs and Congressmen Henry Hyde was one of them before he past away.

Despite all the other issues with Donald Rumsfeld, in regards to Korean affairs he was another guy that understood Korea very well. When the Korean government balked at the relocation plan Rumsfeld pulled 2nd Brigade, 2ID from Korea with little forewarning to let the Korean government know he was serious about the transformation. The removal of 2nd Brigade is what began the USFK transformation. However, once Rumsfeld resigned from office the Korean government a week later reneged on the deal and the delay games preventing the USFK transformation began.

Power of the Status Quo – For anyone to tackle all the issues I have listed above it would take extraordinary dedication and effort to do so that would need to be maintained over a number of years until the pull out of forces from Korea is complete. For many political leaders, putting forth the multi-year effort necessary to withdraw USFK is simply too much work with little political payoff, so why bother? In regards to USFK you have a military unit comprised mostly of people there for one year and then going home. They to have little incentive to undertake a long term project in regards to the withdrawal of USFK.

The ones who have spent a long time in USFK and work to change things are often offset by those who have been in Korea a long time themselves and actually benefit from keeping the status quo the way it is. It is not impossible, but it is difficult to create change in USFK. There are a few other smaller issues I can think of in regards to pulling USFK out of Korea but these are the main ones that would need to be addressed that clearly show that withdrawing USFK would require a multi-year long term effort. Since such a thing isn’t going to happen anytime soon that is why I think the US government should continue to strongly push for the USFK consolidation on Camp Humphreys. The consolidation is an opportunity for USFK to cut troop numbers along with reducing the force footprint in the nation along with being in a better strategic position in regards to North Korea.

The ROK government is going to continue to do everything possible to delay the relocation. President Bush announced in April a delay in troop cuts that were anticipated as part of the Camp Humphreys relocation and he should use that as a bargaining chip in regards to the Camp Humphrey relocation. In due time those troop cuts should be restarted anyway and get the USFK force strength down to 25,000 servicemembers as planned.

Additionally I believe USFK should move units piece meal to Camp Humphreys. USFK should focus on building one unit area at a time on the expanded Camp Humphreys and fill it with soldiers currently stationed on Yongsan. Build another unit area and fill it with more soldiers from Yongsan. Physically moving people from the most visible US military presence in Korea will send a signal to Korea at large that the US is serious about the move.

If the Korean government continues to play delay games (ie- the cost sharing and camp pollution issues) then serious consideration should given in regards to removing 2ID completely from the peninsula. This would be a shock to Korean society even greater then when 2nd brigade was withdrawn that should be enough to get the Korean government moving on the relocation of US forces to Camp Humphreys.