Text Fw: Seoul seeks documentation of US troop strength in Korea

Korea Times
05-09-2010 19:07
Seoul seeks documentation of US troop strength in Korea
By Jung Sung-ki
Staff Reporter

The presence of 28,500-strong U.S. forces on the Korean Peninsula is expected to be stipulated in "defense guidelines" to be drawn up by Seoul and Washington in coming months, a government official said Sunday.

The move comes amid lingering speculation that the U.S. troop level in Korea will eventually decrease after 2012 when the U.S. military relinquishes its operational control of South Korean troops during wartime to Korean commanders.

"Despite repeated explanations by both governments, speculation continues about a possible drawdown of U.S. troops in Korea following the planned transition of wartime control," a senior defense ministry official said.

"To dispel such a misunderstanding and reaffirm the solid ROK-U.S. alliance, we're considering stipulating the presence of the current-level U.S. troops in Korea in a diplomatic and defense document," the official said on condition of anonymity.

The pledge on the U.S. troop-level is expected to be put in defense guidelines to be adopted in the forthcoming "2+2" meeting of foreign and defense ministers from Korea and the United States, which is slated for as early as next month in Seoul, or in the Security Consultative Meeting between the defense chiefs from the two allies in October, he said.

The guidelines, similar to the U.S.-Japan Defense Guidelines established in 1996, would include key measures to strengthen military cooperation between the two governments, he said.

Among the topics are U.S. reinforcement plans in case of war on the peninsula and the U.S. nuclear umbrella.

Under a 2007 deal on command rearrangements, the U.S. military on the peninsula is to shift to an air- and naval-centric supporting role with the Korean military taking over main combat operations in the event of military conflicts.

The ROK-U.S. Combined Forces Command (CFC) is to be deactivated and two separate theater commands of both militaries will be put in place instead.

gallantjung@koreatimes.co.kr


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