Hillary Clinton, Start Dialogue With the North Korea Now!

* image caption*

The letters of the first photo say:

No! Missile Defense participation!, No! Proliferation Security Initiative!, No! US-SK joint military exercise! No! dispatch to Afghanistan!

Yes! Normalization of the US-NK relationship! Yes! Sign the Peace Agreement!



On February 17, 2009, The Solidarity for Peace And Reunification of Korea(SPARK) had a 113th monthly Anti-US imperialism rally, in front of the US Embassy, Seoul, Korea.

The summary of its claims in the rally (tentative translation)

1. Hillary Clinton, the Secretary of State visits Korea on Feb. 19-20, 2009. She said that “ If the North Korea is seriously ready to abolish the nuclear weapons completely, verifiably, the Obama government will be willing to normalize the relationship between the two countries, to replace the long time cease fire into the peace agreement, and to provide the North Korean people with the economic help of energy and others"…When the Lee Myung Park government’s harsh policy against the North Korea has led the SK-NK relationship into the closed alley, the change of the political current of the Korean peninsula through the improvement of the US-NK is desperately needed. Therefore we urge the president Obama and her to promote the dialogue with the North Korea, counter-mirroring the lessons of the policy of the Bush administration and to make a breakthrough for the normalization of the relationship between the NK-US relationship.

2. Otherwise, Walter Sharp, the commander of the United States of Forces of Korea(USFK) announced the foundation of the CAC(Combined Air Command) and the policy of the remaining of the USFK 8th Brigade. The both military departments of the both governments are promoting the highly integrated commanding system surpassing the current level of the US-SK joint command system through all areas and abilities, It means the USFK ‘s continuing domination of and meddling into the South Korean military, making meaningless of the decision of the transferring the wartime operational control (OPCON).

3. On January 15, the 8th Special Measure Agreement was submitted to the National Assembly through the official signing. If the assembly, like the government, permits the illegal and shameful increasement of the defense share budget for the relocation of the USFK 2nd brigade, the South Korean people would be the victim by the United States government. We want to expand the consciousness on this issue and to pressure the assembly so that it could actively question the whole issues.

4. It has recently first revealed that the U.S. Department of State has supported the huge amount of the fund to the so called “Human Rights organizations against the North Korea”. We strongly denounce the government of the United States of America who has added oppression against the North Korea with the issue of ‘human rights’ as weapon and who has laid the obstacle in the process for the peaceful normalization of the US-NK relationship.


* Related : A Joint Letter of the representatives of the civil society organizations in South Korea to the U.S. Secretary of State Mrs Hillary Rodham Clinton, February 18, 2009

“We, the representatives of the civil society in South Korea,
congratulate Mrs Hillary Rodham Clinton on assuming the post of Secretary of State, welcome her first official visit to Korea and take this opportunity to present our policy concerns and suggestions on the matters of U.S. policy orientation towards North Korea, the development of the Korea-U.S. alliance, and aspirations for peace in the Korean Peninsula.”


• Related Korean article:

http://spark946.org/bugsboard/index.php?BBS=s_news&action=viewForm&uid=2113&page=1
113차 반미연대집회 " 힐러리 미 국무장관은 조속히 북미대화에 나서라"
- 2009년 2월 17일(화) 낮 12시, 광화문 미대사관 인근 KT 빌딩 앞 –


http://www.tongilnews.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=82884


* Related englisg article:
http://www.spark946.org/bugsboard/index.php?BBS=eng_3&action=viewForm&uid=25&page=1
Defense Ministry decides not to classify N. Korea as its ‘main enemy’
Designation as a ‘direct and serious threat’ is separate from a readiness posture or the recognition of a realistic threat


* Related blog: Space4Peace(Organizing Notes) READING THE TEA LEAVES
http://space4peace.blogspot.com/2009/02/reading-tea-leaves.html


* related article from the Ministry of the Defense Department, South Korea*
http://mnd.go.kr/mndEng/WhatsNew/RecentNews/


Status of OPCON transfer
Date 2009-02-16 16:16

Entire military working toward transfer under Joint Chiefs of Staff

The Republic of Korea (ROK) and the United States are working toward transferring the wartime operational control (OPCON) of ROK military to the chairman of the ROK Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) as the two sides have agreed to transfer the OPCON on 17 April 2012. The OPCON of ROK forces is currently under control of the commander of ROK-U.S. Combined Forces Command (CFC).

The agreement on the transfer of OPCON came at a ROK-U.S. summit in 2006 after the two countries agreed to speed up the process in a Security Consultative Meeting (SCM) held in 2005. The sides have since agreed on the timing of the OPCON transfer and other details of the process through SCMs, ROK-U.S. defense ministerial talks and standing military committee meetings.

After the OPCON transfer, the CFC commander will be tasked to draw up a new single command system that will control both ROK and U.S. militaries, transforming the ROK-U.S. alliance.

Under the new single command system, there will be two separate combat theater command headquarters – the ROK Joint Chiefs of Staff and the U.S. Korea Command – that will remain independent from each other, but will work together to form a joint defense system. A military consultation body will also be formed to ensure continuous military cooperation between the two sides.

Therefore, the disbandment of the ROK-U.S. CFC following the transfer of OPCON will not lead to the dismantlement of the ROK-U.S. joint defense system or any changes in the ROK-U.S. military alliance, according to Brig. Gen. Jeon In Beom, chief of the OPCON transfer office at the ROK JCS.

Toward this end, the countries are annually holding two meetings of the military committee attended by the chairman of the JCS and the U.S. commander of the ROK-U.S. CFC, as well as monthly meetings of high-level representatives that involve the JCS chief of strategies and the deputy commander of the CFC, while some 20 related offices from each sides are working closely together.

While pursuing all-out efforts to prepare for the transfer, the Joint Chiefs of Staff is holding quarterly reviews on 114 tasks in six fields. The six task fields are the establishment of theater combat command system, a ROK-U.S. military cooperation system, operational plans, command execution systems, joint exercises and basis for the transfer of OPCON.

For the establishment of a new theater combat command system, the JCS is working to restructure its organization. While creating new offices of general staff (J-1…J-7) to enable theater combat command by the JCS, the JCS is working to build a new command headquarters by 2011, as well as the headquarters for a ROK military consultation group in the Pyeongtaek Garrison, where the new U.S. Korea Command will be located.

For the establishment of a military cooperation system, the two countries have agreed to set up an Allied Military Command Center (AMCC), Combined Air Command (CAC), and various other command centers, such as CWIOC, COCG and IPS.

Also, many of the consultative bodies will be run even in peacetime while the sides will each dispatch a number of liaison officers to maintain close cooperation. The sides are also working to write up standard operating procedures for consultative bodies while also trying to set up detailed plans for their location, organization and operation. The structure and operation of intelligence and air consultation bodies will remain intact as they are under the current joint defense system.

For the establishment of a theater combat command execution system, the sides have agreed to establish a joint crisis management system, as well as combined operation plans, and to check the systems regularly through their annual Taegeuk exercise and Ulchi Freedom Guardian exercise.

In addition, the sides are trying to develop an operating system for the joint combat command headquarters as well as a C4I system for the joint command. To this end, the ROK military is working to develop an Allied Korea Joint Command and Control System (AKJCCS) by 2011, which will then be linked to the U.S. military’s C4I system.

“The ROK JCS and the U.S. Forces Korea command are working together under close cooperation for the transfer of OPCON,” Brig. Gen. Jeon said. “We will work to focus all our efforts for the successful transfer of the OPCON, which will mark the second formation of our military.”