Tag: USFK

Some in the Korean government are concerned that a secret deal for the release of Jeffrey Fowle was reached with cutting USFK as one of the bargaining chips:

There is speculation about secret talks between Washington and Pyongyang, especially given the abrupt release of Jeffrey Fowle, one of three Americans detained in the North.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Roh Kwang-il here struggled to downplay the issue. Roh said Kerry “made the remarks to urge the North to implement denuclearization in a substantive way. As far as I know there is no discussion at present about whether to cut the size of the USFK or maintain its current size.”

He added that the two countries agreed in 2008 to maintain the size of the USFK at the current level of 28,500 troops. “And this has been reaffirmed continuously through the annual Seoul-Washington Security Consultative Meeting.”

Roh ventured that Kerry “may have meant that this is an issue that can be discussed when the North is denuclearized.”

On a visit to Washington, Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se tried a similar line. “The reduction of the USFK will be discussed in the distant future when the denuclearization is realized,” he said.

“Despite Pyongyang’s release of Fowle, it’s too soon to conclude that there’s been a sea change in the attitude of the North. And U.S. officials also maintain that there’s no change in the U.S. policy,” he claimed.  [Chosun Ilbo]

You can read more at the link, but everyone knows North Korea is not going to denuclearize and any promises of reducing USFK to get Fowle released was probably a demand from North Korea to try and create a rift between the two allies. It seems like having to answer questions about a rift between the two allies was a small price to pay to get Fowle released if that is what happened.

Now can we please take efforts to keep these idiot tourists out of North Korea to prevent having to deal with these detainee negotiations in the first place?

Considering all the attention given to sexual assault and sexual harassment in the military it was only a matter of time before USFK did this because if they didn’t one of the activist groups would have exploited this issue to bash USFK with:

U.S. Forces Korea has banned servicemembers from buying drinks for workers in “juicy bars,” which have long been suspected of involvement in prostitution and human trafficking.

While the military has maintained a zero tolerance policy toward both practices and some commands have taken their own steps to shutter juicy bars, the prohibition on buying “juice” in exchange for female company is USFK’s latest country-wide effort to close the establishments, which used to cluster by the dozen outside some bases.

“Paying for companionship directly supports human trafficking and is a precursor to prostitution,” USFK commander Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti wrote in an Oct. 15 policy letter announcing the change. “This practice encourages the objectification of women, reinforces sexist attitudes, and is demeaning to all human beings.”   [Stars & Stripes]

You can read the rest at the link, but like I have always said the easiest thing to have done was to put all juicy bars with third country nationals in them off limits.  It is much harder to human traffic Korean women when they understand the culture, language, and do not have to worry about having passports held from them.  This latest ban pretty much has the same effect.  It will be interesting to see what new business model the juicy bar owners come up with to get money from troops.  Anyone have any ideas?

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.

So it appears the Koreans are still hoping to turn Yongsan Garrison into a giant city park:

Yongsan, along with other U.S. Forces Korea bases in and north of Seoul, will eventually be turned over to South Korea as part of a long-planned relocation of most Army forces on the peninsula to regional hubs in Daegu and Pyeongtaek. Although a handful of buildings at Yongsan are expected to remain under U.S. control, South Korea plans to turn the 635-acre base into a massive Central Park-like green space. (Stars and Stripes)

You can read more at the link, but I would not be surprised if a good chunk of that land becomes apartment buildings.

The sentencing of these three soldiers may appear to be light but from my experience the sentences are consistent with what a Korean would have received in similar circumstances:

SEOUL, South Korea — Three 2nd Infantry Division soldiers were given suspended sentences Wednesday — essentially putting them on probation — for causing a drunken disturbance at a South Korean water park.
The division later issued a statement that said situations such as the May 31 incident at Everland theme park’s Caribbean Bay attraction undermine the volunteer work other 2ID soldiers perform in the community, from serving in soup kitchens to distributing coal and volunteering at orphanages.
“I will not allow careless acts of indiscipline to tarnish 2ID reputation and our strong relationship with our Korean neighbors,” division commander Maj. Gen. Thomas S. Vandal said in the statement.
Three Camp Casey-based soldiers — Pvt. Marcus Cobb, Pfc. Alex Wilkerson and Spc. Nicholas Myers — were sentenced to six months on convictions of obstruction of performance of official duties. (Stars and Stripes via reader tip)

You can read more at the link but the judge may have also considered the punishment the U.S. military will give to these soldiers which hopefully will include bars to reenlistment. We do not need people like this in the ranks that want to act like children instead of being the professionals they are expected to be.

Talk about a bunch of hyperbole from the mayor of Uijongbu:

The Uijeongbu mayor boycotted a friendship concert at Camp Red Cloud last week after a 2nd Infantry Division soldier allegedly assaulted a taxi driver.

A second incident further exacerbated simmering resentment among local residents at what they see as a never-ending string of crimes by American soldiers, said a spokesman for Mayor Ahn Byung Yong.

2ID commander Maj. Gen. Thomas Vandal apologized in writing and in a telephone conversation with Ahn. Brig. Gen. Richard Kim, assistant division commander for maneuver, met with the mayor.

The soldier, identified by Uijeongbu police as a sergeant, is suspected of assaulting a taxi driver shortly after midnight on Sept. 2 on a road near the base’s back gate. The driver was taken to a hospital after losing control and running onto a curb. No information on his injuries was available………….

Another soldier was accused of flirting with a 26-year-old South Korean woman around 10 p.m. on Sept. 7 at Hoeryong Station, one stop from Uijeongbu, then shoving her toward a wall………………

“I wouldn’t go so far as to say people can’t step out onto the street at night. But they are nervous, and they are scared (of U.S. soldiers),” he said.  [Stars & Stripes]

So two minor drunken incidents involving US soldiers means there is a crime wave and Koreans need to run in fear of every soldier they see?  With thousands of US soldiers stationed and rotating through Korea there is always going to be crime committed by US soldiers just like there is crime committed by Koreans.  Has the mayor eliminated all crime in Uijongbu? You know how many drunken Koreans I have seen on the subway push people?  Heck how many drunk ajushis have gotten into shoving matches just on the sidewalks?  Is the mayor going to grandstand and make an issue of that?

What matters in all of this is how these incidents are dealt with.  There is no doubt that the 2ID leadership takes these incidents very seriously and will comply with the SOFA to have them properly investigated compared to if a Korean gets pushed on the subway by another Korean likely nothing would ever come of it.

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.

For US military members in Korea with dependents be advised that the Courageous Channel exercise is coming up:

Military family members and a number of civilian employees in South Korea soon will take part in the annual Courageous Channel evacuation drill, essentially a dress rehearsal in case of war or natural disaster on the Korean peninsula.

The noncombatant evacuation exercise, frequently called NEO, will be from Sept. 15-Oct. 5 at various installations on the peninsula, U.S. Forces Korea announced Tuesday.

During the exercise, participants will undergo a walkthrough of a potential evacuation that will include NEO binder checks, briefings and practicing assembly and registration procedures at on-post NEO centers. All Department of Defense-affiliated noncombatants with a date eligible for return from overseas of Nov. 1, 2014 or later, including nonemergency essential U.S. government employees, are required to participate. [Stars & Stripes]

You can read more at the link.

The North Koreans are making an attempt to try and draw a wedge between USFK and the South Korean public by making the claim that peace in our time would come if only the US military would withdraw from South Korea:

North Korea said Sunday that its relations with South Korea won’t improve unless the United States withdraws its troops from South Korea.

It is not unusual for Pyongyang to make such a demand, but the latest one came a day after North Korea fired three short-range missiles into the sea off the country’s east coast in what could be the latest show of force against Seoul.

Saturday’s firing marked the 19th time that North Korea has launched missiles or rockets this year, with the number of projectiles fired totaling 111, according to data of South Korea’s military.

“It is not possible to improve the North-South relations nor is it possible to achieve peace, reunification … as long as the U.S. military presence in South Korea is left intact,” the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea said in an English-language statement carried by the North’s official Korean Central News Agency.  [Yonhap]

You can read more at the link.