U.S. commander joins S. Korean lawmakers touring U.N. bases in Japan

By Sam Kim
SEOUL, Feb. 12 (Yonhap) -- The top U.S. commander here has left for Japan to
guide a delegation of South Korean lawmakers touring U.S.-controlled U.N.
installations that will dispatch forces if armed conflict arises on the Korean
Peninsula, a source said Thursday.
Gen. Walter Sharp of the U.S. Forces Korea departed Wednesday with the South
Korean Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Kim Tae-young, and will return with
the five lawmakers later this week, the source said.
Sharp, who also heads the South Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command, has been
stepping up public activities recently, seeking to assure South Koreans of the
U.S. commitment to their defense against North Korea on the divided peninsula.
He met with members of the National Defense Committee of the National Assembly on
Feb. 6, guaranteeing joint combat readiness even after Washington hands over its
wartime control of South Korean troops to Seoul in 2012 as part of its global
repositioning program.
About 28,500 U.S. troops are stationed in South Korea after the 1950-53 Korean
War ended in a ceasefire rather than a peace treaty. South Korea, which has a
660,000-strong military, relinquished its wartime control to the U.S.-led United
Nations command immediately after the war broke out, but is set to take it back.
The upcoming handover has stoked concerns among South Koreans who have long
feared a compromise in joint war deterrence capabilities against North Korea,
which has 1.2 million troops.
The lawmakers left for Japan on a military airplane two days ahead of Sharp, who
arranged the visit, and are touring four of the seven U.S.-controlled U.N. bases
there, the source said.
The lawmakers, including the head of the parliamentary committee, Kim Hak-song,
"will be briefed on the role of U.N. rear bases after the transfer of the wartime
operational control," the source added.
samkim@yna.co.kr
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