YONHAP NEWS

(News Focus) Seoul hints at delaying OPCON transition amid security concerns

SEOUL, Jan. 20 (Yonhap) -- South Korean defense chief said Wednesday the proposed transfer of wartime operational control (OPCON) to Seoul is scheduled for the "worst" possible time, hinting at proposing changes to Washington amid heightened tension on the Korean peninsula.

   The remarks by Defense Minister Kim Tae-young, who took office in September last year, follow Pyongyang's two nuclear tests and missile firing conducted in recent years.

   Initially scheduled for 2012 after negotiations between the two sides under the former liberal administration, analysts expect that discussions on deferring the proposed transition could occur at the "two plus two talks" between the ministers of Seoul and Washington likely to take place in June this year. The comments by Kim were the first such official acknowledgement of unease at the proposed date.

   "The military must prepare for the worst situation, which would be to have the OPCON returned to us in 2012," he said, adding adjusting the time of the transfer is a "matter to be solved on a national basis."

   South Korea's military currently remains under the wartime operational control of the U.S. Forces Korea, a legacy of the 1950-53 Korean War when the United States fought for South Korea against the North. South Korea regained the peacetime command of its forces in 1994.

   South Korea, which is technically still at war with the North after the Korean War ended in a truce rather than a peace treaty, is slated to take back the wartime operation control, or OPCON, from the United States on April 17, 2012.

   "The date is not something the two countries feel bound to," said Baek Seung-joo, a North Korea researcher with the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses in Seoul. "It is just a basic agreement that could change depending on the circumstances on the Korean Peninsula."

   "During their meeting, President Lee Myung-bak and President Obama had also said they would keep an eye on the security conditions on the peninsula, implying the date could be reset," he added. "I believe the minister's comment was in line with this principle."

   North Korea has conducted two nuclear tests and fired several missiles over the past years, escalating tensions with Seoul and its allies who are working to end Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions.

   After Pyongyang's nuclear tests, many people here are worried about timing of the transition of the wartime control, especially in the situation where Seoul has no alternative but to depend on the nuclear umbrella of the United States.

   North Korea is estimated to have six to eight nuclear weapons, along with forty kilograms of weapon grade plutonium, according to some officials of the intelligence authorities here.

   Up to 28,500 U.S. troops are stationed here and both Seoul and Washington have emphasized the OPCON transfer will not affect their military alliance.

   "Our basic stance has not changed and we will continue preparing for the OPCON transition," Won Tae-jae, spokesman of the defense ministry said. "We are, however, continuing to discuss when would be best timing to take back the control."

   "We view this as an issue open for discussions," another defense ministry official said, requesting not to be named. "But this is a matter to be discussed on a national basis, rather than a ministry basis."

   The militaries of South Korea and the United States have been working to replace the U.S.-led combined forces mechanism with a Seoul-led joint command system following a 2007 agreement.

   The preparation work for OPCON transition has proceeded by about 70 percent so far and is expected to complete next year, according to Seoul's defense ministry.

   hayney@yna.co.kr
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