U.S. to return wartime control of S. Korean troops despite N. Korean threat

By Sam Kim
SINGAPORE, May 30 (Yonhap) -- U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said
Saturday the plan for Washington to return the wartime command of South Korean
troops to Seoul in 2012 remains unchanged despite recent North Korean
provocations.

"On the Korean Peninsula, we will transition wartime operational control in 2012,
a historic moment when the Republic of Korea will take the lead role in its
defense," he said at a meeting of Asian and Pacific-Rim defense ministers in
Singapore.
The Republic of Korea is South Korea's official title.
The affirmation by Gates comes as the ruling South Korean party demands its
government to re-negotiate the 2007 agreement to retrieve the command that was
relinquished at the onset of the Korean War.
South Korean conservatives say the command should remain with the U.S. Forces
Korea that has 28,500 troops stationed in South Korea because it enhances their
joint deterrence against North Korea.
Their demand comes as North Korea conducted its second nuclear test on Monday and
apparently prepares to test-fire a long-range ballistic missile despite
international warnings.
Peacetime control was returned in 1994. The U.S. fought under the United Nations
command in the 1950-53 conflict that ended in a truce.
Officials assisting South Korean Defense Minister Lee Sang-hee said the two sides
reaffirmed the agreement during their meeting on the sidelines of the Asia
Security Summit, or "Shangri-la Dialogue."
samkim@yna.co.kr
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