Category: US-ROK Alliance

I belive this when I see it:

"I understand that Washington has changed its plans and decided to keep the Eighth U.S. Army on the Korean Peninsula, but will reorganize it as a U.S. ground forces command in Korea around 2012,” when wartime operational control is transferred to Korean forces, a military source said Sunday. That would mean the Eighth is reorganized according to Washington’s need to maintain a self-reliant military command in South Korea once the CFC disappears.

Alegedly this new command is going to be called KORCOM.  I have to wonder who the Chosun’s military source is, some private who heard rumors in the chow hall?  Like I said before I will have to see this to believe it. 

From the Chosun:

According to the roadmap, the two countries will set up a new system of military cooperation to ensure initial operational capability by 2009, and formulate a new operational plan to replace the existing joint strategy codenamed OPLAN 5027. The Korean military is to expand and restructure its Joint Chiefs of Staff. And the two countries agreed to set up an "Alliance Military Coordination Center" under the Korea-U.S. Military Committee, a consultative body consisting of the chairmen of the Korean and U.S. joint chiefs of staff, to assist the military committee and strengthen cooperation.

The two countries are to establish altogether six cooperative bodies, including a joint information center, a joint operational center, and a combined logistics cooperation center to ensure smooth cooperation between Korean troops and the USFK. They also agreed to maintain a combined aviation and space operations center between Korean Army, Navy and Air Force operation commands and their USFK counterparts. They will conduct five joint military exercises in preparation for the handover from 2010 until early 2012 to make sure operational capability is up to scratch.

All of this is really nothing new and talked about before, it is just now finally been agreed upon.  The big questions is what kind of command relationship and size of reinforcements the US will have in case of hostilities with North Korea.  The Korea Herald provides some answers:

Under the new alliance system, ground and naval forces operations will be led by the Korean military, while the United States will provide aerial-centric support to the Korean troops. The alliance’s air forces will create a combined air and space operation center to enhance joint command for U.S.-led aerial operations in wartime.

By 2009, the two countries will also repeal the allies’ combined war scenario, codenamed OPLAN 5027, and draw up a new war plan designed for independent operations of the two militaries.

Under the OPLAN 5027, if hostilities break out, the United States would deploy up to 690,000 troops, 160 vessels and 2,000 aircraft to the peninsula, in addition to the current troops, which number about 29,000, to remove the regime of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il and defeat his 1.17-million-member military.

It doesn’t take a military strategist to realize that a 690,000 American troop reinforcement is not going to happen.  First of all the US does not have that kind of available man power and even if the US military did, by the time they deployed to Korea the war would be over.  Any immediate reinforcements in a 2nd Korean War would have to come from forces stationed in Japan to be able to reach the peninsula in time to effect the land battle there.  The thing I wonder is if the US should use ground forces to conduct offensive operations against North Korea?

 I tend to think US ground forces should be used for other purposes such as protecting US bases on the peninsula, which will be a whole lot easier once the USFK transformation is complete.  Any ground war against North Korea will be extremely brutal and casualties will be high far surpassing anything the US has seen in Iraq.  A war on the Korean peninsula would remind people what a real war is, which the world hasn’t seen since the days of the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980’s.  First of all, should the US military pay such a high price in blood when the ROK Army is more than capable of fighting a ground war themselves?  Secondly, I have long believed that no American troops should step into North Korea for a variety of reasons I have listed before which you can read about here. Providing air and naval superiority during any conflict on the peninsula should be enough to ensure the success of the ROK military without the need of a second Inchon Landing Operation.

You can read more over at the Marmot’s Hole.

Is anyone surprised that Korean politicians are demagoging the environmental issue:

Politicians are poised for their own investigation into the process in question.

Lawmakers of the National Assembly’s Environment and Labor Committee said they will conduct an on-site inspection Thursday at three bases north of Seoul, which were returned last month.

The inspection is part of preparations for a two-day hearing from June 25 on the issue, in which Foreign Minister Song Min-soon, Defense Minister Kim Jang-soo, and Lt.Gen. Stephen G. Wood, the USFK’s deputy commander, are scheduled to testify.

“We will focus on whether or not the process of returning the bases was appropriate,” said Rep. Woo Won-shik, who recently bolted from the pro-government Uri Party.

Still, it remains uncertain whether the lawmakers will shed light on the allegations raised by environmental activists.

These law makers just happen to be from the liberal political parties like Uri and the DLP who currently have favorably ratings of 9.1% and 10.3%. They are trying to demagogue the pollution issue to their own political advantage. During the 2002 election season they had the June 13th accident to demagogue and since they have no accident this year to demagogue they are relying on the camp pollution issue instead to hopefully rally anti-US sentiment to garner votes.

These environmentalists could care less about pollution in Korea in general because their only concern is manufacturing anti-US sentiment. As many of you I’m sure remember, the environmental groups along with a large block of the DLP political party have been linked to a North Korean spy ring.

These lawmakers and environmentalists have little creditability and I suspect much of the camp pollution findings have been “Dr. Hwang-ed” for political purposes. I have been saying this for months, I would love to see a detailed line by line report on the supposed environmental damage in every camp. What I suspect is going on is that these demagogues are making claims of pollution due to the presence of asphalt on the camps for example. Oil is used in making asphalt thus they can make claims of oil slicks on the camps based on the presence of asphalt.

USFK should use this scheduled hearing to go on the offensive. I have been saying this months as well that USFK should conduct environmental impact studies of the land surrounding USFK camps compared to the land inside the camps. I know quite a few areas outside of USFK camps in Uijongbu that are highly polluted by the local Korean community.

The Korean government would probably never agree to this, but it would also be useful to compare USFK camps to ROK Army camps. I am willing to bet the USFK camps are much cleaner than ROK Army camps. By the government refusing to carry out such a impact study could be used by USFK to support their claims they have met government standards for environmental clean up if the Korean government is not willing to conduct the same type of pollution studies on their own military’s land.

By presenting evidence that USFK camps are cleaner than the surrounding community would greatly diminish the claims by the demagogues. However, what will probably happen is that the demagogues will get their chance to grand stand and bash the US military while USFK officials just take it and hope it all just goes away.

HT: Marmot

 

UPDATE #2:  The AFP actually has a much more detailed article up about the protest and they quote the Seoul police as saying 30,000 people attended the rally on Wednesday. 

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UPDATE #1: The Korean Media has picked up on the story today with the Chosun Ilbo deeming the rally only worthy of a picture with no detailed information:

The Joong Ang Ilbo has a similar picture but lists more of what the protest was about and that 25,000 people attended.  It is amazing that the anti-US loons can have a protest of just a few dozen people and make more headlines than 25,000 people in front of City Hall waving US and Korean flags. 

You can read more over at Lost Nomad.

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I traveled to Korea this week on leave with my wife.  This is my first time back to Korea since the fall of 2005.  So far it has been an interesting trip.  For example on Wednesday we decided to go take a walk down the Choengyecheon Stream and then walk over to Myeongdong via City Hall in order to get some lunch.  I will blog more about the Cheongyecheon in a future posting but it was a good walk with a lot of people out and about because Wednesday was the Korean Memorial Day.

Anyway while walking along the Cheongyecheon Stream we noticed a number of people that were carrying Korean and American flags which we thought was odd.  Once we reached the end of the stream we walked towards City Hall and we found out why:

In the above picture you can see a number of elderly citizens were lounging in the shade and they were handing out Korean and American flags to people walking by.   The wife and I spoke with them and they said they had just held a rally and that they were protesting the Korean government to recognize their contributions as a secret commando unit during the Korean War as well as protesting the government’s policy towards North Korea.  Some of these guys actually looked familar from protest pictures I have seen before in the Korean media of the veterans groups holding rallies. 

It was Memorial Day and I thanked these guys for their patriotism, service, and their support of the US-ROK Alliance and we then continued on our way.  As we approached City Hall the sidewalks were filled with people wearing blue shirts and holding Korean and American flags.  As we waded through the crowd we saw people in blue shirts handing out US and Korean flags to other people in blue shirts as well as people passing by:

As I looked towards City Hall I could see there was a huge rally going on:

One of the people in the blue shirt we questioned said that the rally was organized by Christian church groups in rememberance of Memorial Day as well as to show support for the US-ROK Alliance.  I was definitely surprised by the turn out because this rally filled the City Hall lawn as well as having people on the sidewalks across the street where I took the picture, not to mention the veterans rallied just down the street from City Hall.  I’m not good at estimating numbers but that should give you an idea of how big the rally was. 

This was personally the largest pro-US rally I have seen and was quite surprised.  What I was most surprised about was the number of young Koreans attending this rally along with families.  Usually pro-US rallies tend to dominated by older people who remember American sacrifices during the Korean War.  Not this one because younger people easily out numbered the older people which is really a good thing to see because younger people tend to be the most anti-American in Korea. 

Maybe the anti-US trend is starting to wear out in Korea?  I have to say just from being here this week I do feel less of an anti-US vibe than in the past from just walking around and talking to people.   Any other opinions on this are welcome. 

Anyway it was lunch time and we were hungry so we started walking towards Myeongdong to get lunch.  We got a really good laugh because the street was lined with US and Korean flags:

What made this funny was that we saw a banner on the front of the Lotte Hotel welcoming people attending some forum between China and Korea.  Right in front of the hotel and all along the road were Korean and US flags.  Probably not to welcome of a sight for the Chinese visitors to this forum. 

I checked the Korean media for any news of this rally and didn’t see anything but maybe they will post something tomorrow.  Anyway it was a welcome sight and hopefully the large turn out for this rally is a sign of positive things to come in the US-ROK relationship.

It appears that issues that many of us Korea bloggers have been blogging about for years is finally getting some ink in the mainstream press:

Perhaps no place does American frustration with South Korea show up so much as among the US military services. Many officers with experience in Korea assert that the US should reduce its troops in Korea or perhaps withdraw all but a token force. One who considers that US forces are almost held hostage in Korea said plaintively: “Let my people go.”

US officers point to running quarrels with the Koreans over issues such as command of US and Korean forces, sharing the cost of US forces in Korea, US access to Korean training areas, moving US forces to new locations, and cleaning up US bases that have been vacated. A particular sticking point: President Roh insists on vetoing US deployments out of Korea to conflicts elsewhere.

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The USFK Commander General B.B. Bell recently spoke in front of the US House Armed Services Committee about the situation on the Korean peninsula.  Really nothing ground breaking, but he rightfully brings up the announcement of a ROK military draw down:

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.

This reduction in forces may or may not happen due to a new administration taking over the Blue House next year.  The force reductions and mandatory service reduction I think are just election year gimmicks by President Roh.  When a new president takes over I’m sure national security related matters such as potential force reductions will get a thorough review. 

Interestingly enough General Bell also commented on perceptions of the younger generation of Korea on the USFK presence:

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."

The ROK Army today is self reliant enough to defeat any North Korean attack without US military assistance, however the war would be more protracted and the devastation to the peninsula would be extensive compared to a war that would be ended quicker with US military assistance. 

Plus the ROK government is saving a lot of money by not having to buy systems such as signal intelligence, early warning, among a host of other technical systems that the US military is providing for Korea free of charge.  Jodi has a discussion going on her site about this issue of Korean self reliance and she brings up that the ROK military may never be truly self reliant unless the US leaves and the Korean government is forced to buy the systems the US currently provides for them.  My fear is they won’t spend the money to buy these systems and keep drinking the "sunshine" kool-aid that the Norks are really just misunderstood brothers and hope for the best.  Hoping for the best is not a national security strategy, but with the current Korean government it is. 

The US has security agreements with many nations around the world such as Germany, Italy, Australia, UK, Japan, etc.  Are any of these nations not self reliant?  The next time you hear someone in Korea complaining about self reliance just simply point out the delays for moving the 2nd Infantry Division off the DMZ and Yongsan Garrison out of Seoul.  Then the next thing to point out is the operational control delay.   If anyone in Korea feels like their nation isn’t self reliant then it is clearly a situation of their own making and their own government is doing everything possible not to change it. 

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. 

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.

UPDATE: Make sure you check out the Marmot, Nomad, and OFK for more views on the Cheney snub.

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The Chosun is a bit upset that Vice President Dick Cheney is not visiting Korea during a February trip to Asia and Australia:

U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney will visit Japan, Australia and Guam between Feb. 20 and 27. The White House says Cheney will meet Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Australian Prime Minister John Howard to discuss security concerns in Asia and the war on terror, while delivering President George W. Bush’s message of thanks for those countries’ efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

At the request of the United States, Korea dispatched 3,400 troops to Iraq. The contingent is called the Zaytun Division. Korea also sent 200 soldiers to Afghanistan and 120 to Kuwait. Korea has sent the third-largest contingent of troops those countries following the U.S. and the U.K.

If Korea did not cherish its alliance with the U.S., there would be no reason for young Koreans to go to Iraq and Afghanistan. The only reason the Korean government dispatched troops there is because of our commitment to the alliance.

If the Korean government cherished the US-ROK alliance so much then why did the Korean government unilaterally declare that the Camp Humphreys relocation is going to be delayed by 5 years from the agreed upon date and then not notify the USFK commander?  General Bell first found out about the decision by reading the newspaper.  If the Korean government cared about the US-ROK alliance why did they cut the agreed upon money for the upkeep of the US-ROK alliance only weeks after making a cost sharing agreement? 

If the Korean government cared so much about the US-ROK alliance why are they sending over a billion dollars this year to North Korea while denying USFK the agreed upon money for the upkeep of the US-ROK alliance? 

If the Korean government cared so much about the US-ROK Alliance, why did US pilots have to fly to Thailand to conduct pilot training because the Korean government closed USFK’s only bombing range in Korea due to anti-US protesters?  If the Korean government cared so much about the US-ROK alliance why did the commanding general of the US Air Force in Korea have to threaten to pull the entire US Air Force from Korea just to get co-use of a Korean Air Force bombing range?

If the Korean government cared so much about the US-ROK alliance, can someone explain to me why these leading Korean politicians made all these anti-American statements?  I think once the Korean government can explain all the questions I just posed than maybe Dick Cheney will come visit.

But wait there is more:

That’s why Cheney’s excuse — that he is bypassing Korea since he came here two years ago — is difficult to understand. Australia dispatched 1,400 soldiers and Japan brought back all of its 550 troops last year.

Some Koreans like to make a big deal about the Zaytun unit being a visible sign of Korea’s commitment to the US-ROK alliance.  I appreciate the Zaytun soldiers going to Iraq, but bottom line is that they accomplished little in Iraq.  If the Korean government allowed the ROK Army to take over the Kirkuk sector of Iraq like the Pentagon originally wanted, I have no doubt in my mind that President Bush and Cheney would be visiting Korea just as much as Japan.  However, the Korean government chose the path of being irrelevant by demanding that the Zaytun unit serve in Kurdistan where no harm would come to anyone and they could introduce the Kurds to the wonders of modern indoor plumbing. 

Heck if you believe the YTN reports from Korea, it is more dangerous for Koreans to walk the streets of Seoul than for the Zaytun soldiers to walk the streets of Irbil.  That is why I have been advocating from when they first deployed that if the soldiers were not going to be used to conduct meaningful reconstruction and security in Iraq than send them back home.  They could be used to patrol the streets of Hongdae instead. 

As far as the Chosun trying to compare the Korean contributions to Iraq compared to the Japanese and Australians I found quite humorous.  Japan a country with a pacifist constitution and 550 soldiers did just as much physically in Iraq as over 3,000 ROK Army soldiers did.  Plus politically Japan has been a huge ally of the United States.  The commander of United States Forces Japan doesn’t first find out about the breaking of transformation and funding agreements from the newspapers and no Generals have to make ultimatums to pull the Air Force from Japan to get agreements done. 

Comparing Japanese contributions to Australia is even more absurd.  Australia a country with only a population of 20 million people compared to Korea’s 50 million people sent 1,400 combat troops to Iraq who participated in the initial war and to this day continue to guard facilities in the Green Zone and provide convoy escort for VIPs and diplomats through the mean streets of Baghdad and southern Iraq, while the Zaytun unit had to be pressured to allow 40 soldiers out of over 3,200 to guard a UN building in Irbil, one of the safest cities in Iraq.  I guess they were all to busy making toilet seats. 

Keep in mind as well that Australia only has a standing Army of 25,000 soldiers and along with their Iraq operations, they have seen heavy combat in Afghanistan, while continuing to spearhead peacekeeping operations in the Solomon Islands and East Timor along with participating in UN observer missions in places such as the Egyptian Sinai and Lebanon.  The ROK Army with over 600,000 soldiers cannot match the world wide relevancy of the Australian Defence Force.  This is not a question of capability because the ROK Army is highly capable, it is a matter of governmental policies of irrelevancy. 

So basically my message for anyone who feels Korea is being snubbed by the US government is this, when you implement policies that make you irrelevant, than don’t be surprised when people treat you as being irrelevant.

Here is another sign that USFK Commander General Bell has been doing his job exceedingly well, he has officially pissed off the Korean Foreign Ministry:

South Korea expressed concern over "undiplomatic" remarks made by the top U.S. military officer here regarding possible delays in the relocation of U.S. military bases, a Foreign Ministry official said yesterday.

Earlier this month, Gen. Burwell Bell, commander of U.S. Forces Korea, said he would "fight" any further delay of the planned base movement.

"The comment (made by Gen. Bell) could produce unnecessary misunderstandings, so we delivered an indirect message asking him to be cautious about making comments," the ministry official said on condition of anonymity.

The ministry expressed its concern regarding the matter to U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Kathleen Stephens while she was visiting Seoul last weekend, the official said. But it was not an official warning per se, he added.

You can read General Bell’s prior comments here. 

Why do I say General Bell is doing his job well you may ask?  It is because he is pissing off the Korean government which is a sure sign that he is not about maintaining the status quo, business as usual USFK relationship in Korea and the Foreign Ministry knows it.  Remember the Korean government is all about maintaining the status quo for reasons I have listed before here.  Apparently the Foreign Ministry doesn’t have the courage to tell General Bell what they think about him themselves, so in order to under cut him, the ministry has decided to complain to the State Department representative visiting Seoul about him.  I hope the State Department won’t entertain this crap from the Korean Foreign Ministry, but the State Department has a track record for entertaining characters that they shouldn’t.  Need I bring up Madeline Albright toasting Kim Jong-il for one obvious example?

If the Foreign Ministry wants to talk about being "undiplomatic" let’s discuss it.  First of all, isn’t unilaterally declaring that the Camp Humphreys relocation is going to be delayed by 5 years from the agreed upon date between the US and Korean governments and then the USFK commander first finding out about this by reading the newspaper just a bit undiplomatic?  Isn’t unilaterally cutting agreed upon money for the upkeep of the US-ROK alliance only weeks after making the agreement undiplomatic?  Isn’t giving over a billion dollars this year to North Korea while denying USFK the agreed upon money for the upkeep of the US-ROK alliance, which is no where near as much money as the Korean government is sending to North Korea, undiplomatic?  Isn’t the fact that US pilots had to fly to Thailand to conduct pilot training because the Korean government closed USFK’s only bombing range in Korea due to anti-US protesters and then denied the US Air Force co-use of a Korean Air Force bombing range undiplomatic?  Isn’t the fact that the commanding general of the US Air Force in Korea had to threaten to pull the Air Force from Korea just to get co-use of a Korean Air Force bombing range that the Korean government continued to deny him undiplomatic? 

You want more undiplomatic?  How about this classic post from One Free Korea listing the undiplomatic comments that leading figures in the Korean government have made towards the US:

*  Kim Won Ung, the unmedicated nutcase who holds a senior foreign policy post in the National Assembly, and who threatened to throw our Ambassador out of Korea, railed at Bell for suggesting that North Korean missiles could be viewed as a threat to the South, and even asserted territorial claims on Manchuria;

*  Kim Dae Jung, who blamed America for North Korean nuke tests and urged other poliiticians to adopt the same fraudulent spin; 

*  Current Foreign Minister Song Min Soon:  ”[The United States] has fought more wars than any other nation in the history of its establishment and survival ….”;

*  “Comrade” Chung Dong-Young, who as UnFiction Minister, published this rambling, illogical, error-riddled screed accusing the U.S. of responsibility for Japan’s occupation of Korea, over a peace treaty it helped broker in 1904, and which won Teddy Roosevelt one of the first Nobel Peace Prizes;

*  Chang Yong-Dal, the Uri representative and standing committee member who praised the 9/11/05 thugs who tried to tear down a statue of General MacArthur for their “deep ethnic purity” (the lead thug is now under arrest as a North Korean agent);

*  Jung Chung-Rae, the pervy Uri rep who compared the USFK to unclean sperm;

*  Presidential Candidate and Uri Leader Kim Geun Tae, who dances for the amusement of the North Koreans the week after they test a nuke; but declares an insult to national pride when the U.S. declares that it will actually implement UN Security Council Resolution 1718;

*  Ex-Unification Minister Lee Jong-Seok: “The Bush administration of the U.S. is fundamentalist in nature, and it has been raising questions about drugs and human rights abuses since it took office.”

Read the rest of OFK’s post for more great commentary about the demagoguery by the South Korean government towards the US government.

If anything the only one being diplomatic in Korea is General Bell. 

The drive by diplomats from the US State Department don’t have to put up with the daily demagoguery and anti-US maneuvering by the Korean government that General Bell has had to deal with.  General Bell was able to create momentum for the USFK transformation in the past because he had strong backing from former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld in Washington.  Once Rumsfeld was replaced last December the Korean government immediately took this as an opportunity to back out of all USFK transformation and alliance cost sharing agreements. 

So far the only one speaking out on the South Korean governmental betrayal of the US troops sent to Korea to help protect  the country is General Bell.  The Pentagon is so blinded by Iraq that it appears they don’t want to even be bothered with USFK related issues.  The drive by diplomats from the State Department have been of even less help.  American politicians have been just as worthless.  Once Congressman Henry Hyde retired from office, the lone voice in Congress that understood what was going in Korea was gone.  Why isn’t Hillary, Pelosi, Murtha, and the rest of the crew not visiting the 30,000 soldiers helping keep the peace in Korea?  Could it be because they care more about being seen by the media in the Green Zone then having any real concern about the welfare of US soldiers, especially ones being betrayed by the US’s so called blood allies?  The media is no where to be seen in Korea unless Kim Jong-il is launching a missile or testing a nuclear bomb.  The inattention to the plight of the USFK commander by the US military brass, political leaders, and media is disgraceful.  It appears General Bell truly is a lone voice and the Korean government knows it. 

You can read more of course at the Marmot’s Hole.

USFK has come out now and put it quite clearly that once operational control is handed over USFK will not be responsible for maintaining the armistice agreement:

The U.S. Forces Korea on Tuesday said the UN forces commander here €œcannot be responsible for maintenance of the Armistice Agreement and potential crisis escalation once he has no further control of South Korean forces after their full operational control has been handed over to Seoul. USFK Commander Gen. Burwell Bells statement came in a press release aimed at clarifying reports on Bells recent remarks about the changing role of UN Command.

It was Bells first official statement of his position that the largely nominal UN forces, which are headed by the USFK chief, will no longer be responsible for maintaining the armistice treaty once Combined Forces Command is dismantled. The remarks as good as say the UNC’s duty of maintaining the armistice and dealing with violations will be left to South Korea.

General Bell felt the need to respond to media reports that falsely claimed that the General was trying to keep command of South Korean forces after the operational control hand over with his UN title.  The CFC will no longer exist which has been discussed at length before.  This is just nothing more than people in South Korean government doing everything possible to delay the inevitable.

In the Stars and Stripes they have an interesting article up about the neutral nations committee from the UN that investigates and reports violations of the cease fire agreement on both sides of the DMZ:

Maj. Gen. Sture Theolin of Sweden and Maj. Gen. Gerhad Bruegger, Switzerland, meet weekly. Polish delegate Brig. Gen. Anatol Czaban joins the meetings a few times each year. The commission reports to the senior member of the Military Armistice Commission.

The NNSCs mission is to “supervise, observe, inspect and investigate military activities outside the Demilitarized Zone and to ensure that neither side violates the armistice by introducing or reinforcing military personnel and materiel for resumed fighting, Theolin said during a news conference prior to the meeting late Tuesday afternoon.

Since the commission hasnt been allowed for decades to inspect ports for any military build-up, officials admitted their presence is largely symbolic.

But they represent the value of the international community, Bruegger said.

The UN is willing to sends millions upon millions of unaccounted for dollars to North Korea while they can’t even inspect a port in accordance with the armistice agreement in return?  If this isn’t a perfect example of the irrelevance of the UN I don’t know what is.  The “value of the international community”?  What the heck is that?  Does he mean kind of like the value of the international community in Lebanon?  That has worked out great.

Wait there is more:

Most likely, the year of 2006 will not be remembered as a good year for reconciliation and cooperation on the peninsula, Theolin told a gathering of journalists. The Norths missile tests in July and the nuclear event in October cast shadows into an uncertain future.

You don’t say?

And decisions made in ongoing discussions on the future role of the U.N. Command will inevitably affect also the NNSC, Theolin said.

He declined to speculate what changes could be in store for the commission.Theolin added that the armistice is of fundamental relevance, that has allowed for a blossoming South Korean democracy and regional security and stability.

“It is important to recognize that although (North Korea) tries to undermine the NNSC and other institutions of the armistice, claiming that they no longer exist, North Korea continues to respect the cease-fire itself, he said.

Respect the cease-fire?  The UN most be using the Palestinian definition of a cease fire where one side stops firing while the other one continues to take pot shots.  How can the UN claim North Korea respects the cease fire when North Korea murdered 6 six South Korean sailors and wounded 18 others in a planned ambush to draw attention away from South Korea’s amazing 2002 World Cup run?  Or how about the 1996 spy submarine incident that claimed the lives 13 ROK Army soldiers and 4 civilians?  There has been numerous clashes in recent years in the West Sea and the DMZ due to North Korean violations of the Military Demarcation Line.  I can keep playing this game, but I think everyone has got the point, North Korea isn’t abiding by the cease fire resolution and the UN is making excuses for another dictator; not that it isn’t anything new.