WASHINGTON, Oct. 20 (Yonhap) -- South Korea and the United States reached a compromise agreement Friday to complete the transfer of wartime operational control of South Korean troops from the U.S. over a 30-month-long period from 2009 after failing to agree on a specific target year.
In a 14-point commmnunique, the two sides said they agreed on the flexible transition period of between Oct. 15, 2009 and March 15, 2012. The statement was issued after hours of further negotiations after the end of the two countries' official defense talks.
It is decided finally that wartime control will be transferred.
Yoon demanded that the statement be more specific about U.S. nuclear assurances, but Rumsfeld said it would not go beyond the language it has used in previous years.
Korea demands more specific assurance, but in the previous year Korea demanded the the article of nuclear assuarance should be deleted.
When asked about another contentious issue of sharing the cost of U.S. troop maintenance in South Korea, Rumsfeld said the burden should be divided equally between Seoul and Washington.
Rumsfeld is a smart guy.
According to the communique, Rumsfeld "offered assurances of a firm U.S. commitment and immediate support to the ROK, including continuation of the extended deterrence offered by the U.S. nuclear umbrella, consistent with the Mutual Defense Treaty.
The US assurance to this extent is sufficient enough to show the US presence in this region.
Despite the denial by U.S. officials, South Korean officials said the phrase "extended deterrence" can be interpreted as a detailed and concrete pledge by the U.S. to extend a nuclear umbrella for South Korea in case of an attack from North Korea.
South Korea wants to misunderstand.
In a war scenario called OPLAN 5027, jointly drawn up in 2002, South Korea and the U.S. would seek to remove the regime of the North's leader, Kim Jong-il, and defeat his 1.17-million-member military in the event North Korea invades the South, but analysts say it lacks specific action plans to cope with a nuclear war.
Some observers raise the possibility that the war plan will likely be revised to specify what types of U.S. tactical nuclear weapons will be deployed on the Korean Peninsula in accordance with the level of North Korea's nuclear threat. The types of weapon systems on offer would probably include Tomahawk missiles, AGM cruise missiles, BGM-109 guided missiles, stealth fighters and submarines, according to them.yohan
Divided control will not practically function. South Korea finally what she had wanted----.Independence, Congradurations! Or is it isolation?
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