If you eliminate the north's rhetoric and tone there is something to agree with in these statements. The north is paying attention to the debate.
It added that the combined control structure that Seoul and Washington agreed to create to replace the CFC effectively is no different in its goal, and nullifies the rational for the OPCON transfer.…The paper monitored in Seoul said creating another command structure fielded by officers from the two allies aims to deceive the public into thinking change has taken place."Just because there is a change in the name and a South Korean officer is placed at the head of the command does not alter the fact that the U.S. will provide intelligence and exercise real wartime operational control," the Rodong Sinmun said.
We should keep in mind that a key part of the north's strategy is taken right out of The Sun Tzu, e.g., to split the alliance:
It then argued that a complete withdrawal of U.S. forces from the Korean Peninsula would play a critical role in enhancing global peace and stability, and remove any cause for future conflict.
If the current "OPCON Transfer" plan is executed as planned with a ROK only warfighting command and the US in a separate supporting command the north will assume its plan is working and it will be gaining the advantage since the alliance will no longer have unity of command.
Unfortunately north Korean apologists who would advocate the above course of action do not understand that the exact opposite would occur – the north would believe it has the correlation of forces to successfully execute its campaign plan to reunify the peninsula under the north's control thus ensuring survival of the Kim Family Regime. The only way to hope to prevent future conflict on the peninsula is for the Kim Family regime to be eliminated.
But if a ROK/US combined command is maintained there should be no daylight in the alliance and thus no opportunity for the north to execute its plans; therefore, the most important mission of the alliance will be accomplished: deterrence of an attack on the ROK.
But the north's statements should be considered by the ROK/US task force that is studying the OPCON transfer. It should be very clear that the north wants the OPCON transfer because it realizes its advantage and that OPCON transfer supports its plans.
The complete Rodong Sinmun article is also pasted below.
V/R
Dave
N. Korea slams plan to create new joint S. Korea-U.S. military command
SEOUL, Nov. 8 (Yonhap) -- North Korea on Friday slammed a plan to create a new joint South Korea-U.S. military command after Seoul reclaims wartime operation command (OPCON) of its troops.
In an article carried by the Rodong Sinmun, an organ of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea, the North claimed that the Combined Forces Command (CFC) that has been in existence for 35 years is nothing more than a criminal organization designed to carry out an invasion of the communist country.
It added that the combined control structure that Seoul and Washington agreed to create to replace the CFC effectively is no different in its goal, and nullifies the rational for the OPCON transfer.
The two allies are currently engaged in talks to push back the deadline for the transfer of OPCON, due to heightened regional tensions triggered by Pyongyang's unwillingness to give up its buildup of weapons of mass destruction. Originally, Seoul is set to regain operational control in late 2015 that will give its generals primary responsibility for defending the country with the United States military playing the supporting role.
(Continued at the link below)
Rodong Sinmun Demands Immediate Dismantlement of Mechanism for Invading DPRK
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| Pyongyang, November 8 (KCNA) -- Mechanism for a war of aggression such as the south Korea-U.S. "combined forces command" should be dismantled immediately and the U.S. occupation and domination over south Korea be terminated at an early date, says Rodong Sinmun Friday in an article. The article goes on: The command is a criminal military mechanism for the U.S. colonial domination over south Korea and for the provocation of a war against the north. During the past several decades, the command worked out, supplemented and rounded off various war scenarios aimed to make a preemptive attack upon the DPRK and supervised military drills and arms buildup to help U.S. and south Korean forces get familiar with those scenarios. The U.S. and the south Korean puppet forces are blatantly challenging the nation's aspiration and the demand of the era for the improved inter-Korean relations and the peace on the Korean Peninsula. What should not be overlooked is that the U.S. and the south Korean puppet warmongers are seeking to organize a new command instead of dismantling the "combined forces command" under the pretext of the "transfer of the right to control wartime operations." The above-mentioned action is nothing but a ploy to nullify the "transfer of the right to command wartime operations" and deceive public opinion at home and abroad. As a matter of fact, the U.S. is contemplating the conversion of this defunct mechanism into one for combined operations for invading the DPRK by letting member countries of the "UN Command" take part in the joint military drills including Key Resolve and Foal Eagle being staged in south Korea and its vicinity. This is little short of a scenario to create a hotbed of a war on the peninsula and bring a root cause of threatening and disturbing peace and security in Northeast Asia and other parts of the world. With no rhetoric can the U.S. justify the existence of the above-said mechanism or vindicate the presence of its forces in south Korea. |
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