Monday, July 29, 2013

S. Korea, U.S. to discuss OPCON transition in high-level meeting

I would still like to know why a top American official would release this kind of information when it is more appropriately worked out at the Security Consultative Meeting (which probably should have been the response to the question).

   The issue of wartime control resurfaced earlier this month after a top American official said during an interview with Yonhap News Agency that the South Korean government had requested another delay in the OPCON transition following the North Korean provocations this spring.

The reason might be that the top official does not understand the nature of the alliance, does not care about the alliance, seeks to undercut the legitimacy of the ROK, or perhaps wants to pre-empt the proposal for a Combined Theater Command with a ROK general in charge.  I am curious.
V/R
Dave

2013/07/29 09:45 KST
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S. Korea, U.S. to discuss OPCON transition in high-level meeting
By Kim Eun-jung

SEOUL, July 29 (Yonhap) -- Senior South Korean and U.S. military officials will meet this week for a high-level defense meeting in Seoul, the defense ministry said Monday, which is widely expected to address another delay in Washington's planned transition of wartime operational control (OPCON) to Seoul.


   The Korea-U.S. Integrated Defense Dialogue (KIDD) will be held on Tuesday and Wednesday in Seoul as the two countries are preparing to transfer OPCON to South Korea in December 2015 and draft a new joint military structure.

   The biannual meeting takes place at a time when calls have grown to postpone the transfer of OPCON following North Korea's third nuclear test in February, and its war-like threats against Seoul and Washington earlier this year.

   "The upcoming meeting will evaluate security threats posed by North Korea and issues related to OPCON transfer preparations," a senior ministry official said, asking anonymity.

   The defense meeting, launched in 2011, is an overarching structure that includes a series of alliance-related meetings such as the Extended Deterrence Policy Committee, the Strategic Alliance 2015 Working Group (SAWG) and the Security Policy Initiative (SPI).

   Deputy Minister of Defense Lim Kwan-bin will meet his American counterpart, Deputy Assistant Secretary for East Asia David Helvey, the ministry said.
(Continued at the link below)

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