http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_international/557489.html
Posted on : Jun.16,2012 12:42 KST
Visiting Washington, Defense Minister makes plans for Korean assumption of wartime command
By Ha Eo-young, staff reporter
South Korea and the United States agreed to set up a system for
follow-up measures on revised missile guidelines in response to the
North Korean asymmetric threat.
They also made plans to put the finishing touches on their alliance by
collaborating to refine a combined command structure for after the
transition of wartime operational control (OPCON) to South Korea in
2015.
The plans were included in an Oct. 24 joint communique by Minister of
National Defense Kim Kwan-jin and US Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta
following the 44th Security Consultative Meeting (SCM) in Washington.
In the communique, the two ministers said they had reaffirmed that North
Korea’s policies and provocations, including proliferation of nuclear
weapons and ballistic missiles, posed a serious threat to regional
stability and global security.
They also said they had reviewed South Korea’s 2012 revision of its
missile guidelines and agreed that the revised guidelines guaranteeing
South Korean missile and unmanned aircraft capability improvements were
key to a comprehensive approach toward the alliance’s missile threat
response strategy.
On North Korea’s nuclear, chemical, and biological ballistic missiles,
Kim and Panetta said they had agreed to promote the efficacy of extended
deterrence through a customized strategy involving the Extended
Deterrence Policy Committee.
Speaking about the response to the missile threat, a Ministry of
National Defense official said, “There could be some areas where South
Korea contributes in a limited way to the US-led missile defense
system.”
But the same official added that “the US’s missile defense system and
the Korean-model missile defense system are clearly different.”
In September, US Deputy Under Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks said
discussions were under way on how South Korea might contribute to the
missile defense system, noting that one possibility involved
contributing through radar.
The ministry is known to be considering implementing an interception
system using the Patriot PAC-3, a key component of the missile defense
system, as a follow-up for its new missile guidelines.
The two countries also plan to set up a joint working group to study an
efficient command system for after the dissolution of the Combined
Forces Command, with the aim of sustaining and enhancing the alliance’s
combined defense posture and capabilities after the transition of
wartime operational control to ROK Joint Chief of Staff in 2015.
“Nothing specific has been decided yet, but we plan to look at an
optimal, efficient command structure,” said a Ministry of National
Defense official.
“There has been no change in the framework where South Korea leads and the US provides support,” the official added.
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See also
Oct. 9, 2012
Posted on : Jun.16,2012 12:42 KST