ID :
85635
Thu, 10/22/2009 - 11:50
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/85635
The shortlink copeid
(LEAD) S. Korea, U.S. discuss N. Korea threats, alliance issues
(LEAD) S. Korea, U.S. discuss N. Korea threats, alliance issues
(ATTN: RECASTS lead, headline; TRIMS; ADDS details on U.S. delegation in penultimate
para, background on extended deterrence in 6th para from bottom, wartime control in
paras 7-8 from bottom)
By Sam Kim
SEOUL, Oct. 21 (Yonhap) -- South Korea and the United States shared their latest
assessment of North Korea's military capabilities and a broad range of other
issues concerning their alliance during annual talks between their top commanders
on Wednesday.
The Military Committee Meeting (MCM) came as a prelude to the Security
Consultative Meeting (SCM) scheduled for Thursday between the defense ministers
of the decades-long allies in Seoul.
A senior South Korean official said the latest assessment of North Korea's
military moves would be high on the agenda during the meeting between South
Korean Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Lee Sang-eui and his American
counterpart, Adm. Michael Mullen.
"The allies will review their combat readiness and discuss practical ways to
enhance their alliance to counter the threat," the defense official said before
attending the meeting in Seoul.
He declined to be identified as he was not allowed to speak on the meeting that
had yet to take place. A classified report detailing the movements of the North
Korean army was spotted in the conference room at the Ministry of National
Defense.
South Korea and the U.S., which fought together in the 1950-53 Korean War,
alternately host the talks each year.
This year's meeting comes as North Korea is sending mixed signals to the outside
world by appearing willing to engage in dialogue while resuming missile testing
and reviving bellicose rhetoric.
The U.S., which has 28,500 troops in South Korea, is also expected to discuss
with the Asian ally ways to shore up its operations in Afghanistan during the
meetings.
Flying to Japan, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said he was "prepared to
discuss a broad range of needs in Afghanistan" when he meets his South Korean
counterpart, Kim Tae-young.
"I'm not going to make any requests of anybody on this trip. But we do have a
common interest in moving forward in Afghanistan," he said. South Korean media
have speculated for weeks that Washington may ask Seoul to send combat troops to
Afghanistan.
South Korea withdrew more than 200 military medics and engineers from Afghanistan
in 2007 after dozens of South Korean Christian missionaries were held captive
there. Two were killed.
South Korea currently has medical civilians at a U.S. base in Afghanistan and
plans to increase the number to 85 by year's end.
The security meetings come ahead of a four-nation Asian trip by U.S. President
Barack Obama next month. Obama will be in Seoul in mid-November, according to the
South Korean government.
The MCM will be an opportunity to follow up on agreements made earlier this year
between Obama and his South Korean counterpart, Lee Myung-bak, Brig. Gen. Wee
Seung-ho said in a briefing earlier this week.
Following the May 25 nuclear test by North Korea, the U.S. promised to bolster
its measures to defend South Korea under the concept of "extended deterrence."
The concept is based on the willingness of the U.S. to dispatch a variety of
advanced military assets, including submarines and bombers, to the Korean
Peninsula in the event of a conflict.
The allies were also to examine their progress in preparations for the 2012
transfer of wartime operational command of South Korean forces from Washington to
Seoul.
The command was given to the U.S. at the onset of the Korean War. Only peacetime
control was handed back in 1994.
"It is a great, great opportunity for us to continue to strengthen our
relationship," Mullen said at the beginning of the meeting that took place mostly
behind closed doors.
"I look forward to the discussions today and the SCM tomorrow," he said, leading
a team that included Adm. Robert Willard, the new commander of the Pacific
Command and Gen. Walter Sharp, who oversees the U.S. Forces Korea.
The allies remain technically at war with North Korea as the Korean War ended in
a truce rather than a peace treaty. Gates arrived in Seoul on Wednesday and was
to speak to troops at a U.S. garrison based in the South Korean capital.
samkim@yna.co.kr
(END)
(ATTN: RECASTS lead, headline; TRIMS; ADDS details on U.S. delegation in penultimate
para, background on extended deterrence in 6th para from bottom, wartime control in
paras 7-8 from bottom)
By Sam Kim
SEOUL, Oct. 21 (Yonhap) -- South Korea and the United States shared their latest
assessment of North Korea's military capabilities and a broad range of other
issues concerning their alliance during annual talks between their top commanders
on Wednesday.
The Military Committee Meeting (MCM) came as a prelude to the Security
Consultative Meeting (SCM) scheduled for Thursday between the defense ministers
of the decades-long allies in Seoul.
A senior South Korean official said the latest assessment of North Korea's
military moves would be high on the agenda during the meeting between South
Korean Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Lee Sang-eui and his American
counterpart, Adm. Michael Mullen.
"The allies will review their combat readiness and discuss practical ways to
enhance their alliance to counter the threat," the defense official said before
attending the meeting in Seoul.
He declined to be identified as he was not allowed to speak on the meeting that
had yet to take place. A classified report detailing the movements of the North
Korean army was spotted in the conference room at the Ministry of National
Defense.
South Korea and the U.S., which fought together in the 1950-53 Korean War,
alternately host the talks each year.
This year's meeting comes as North Korea is sending mixed signals to the outside
world by appearing willing to engage in dialogue while resuming missile testing
and reviving bellicose rhetoric.
The U.S., which has 28,500 troops in South Korea, is also expected to discuss
with the Asian ally ways to shore up its operations in Afghanistan during the
meetings.
Flying to Japan, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said he was "prepared to
discuss a broad range of needs in Afghanistan" when he meets his South Korean
counterpart, Kim Tae-young.
"I'm not going to make any requests of anybody on this trip. But we do have a
common interest in moving forward in Afghanistan," he said. South Korean media
have speculated for weeks that Washington may ask Seoul to send combat troops to
Afghanistan.
South Korea withdrew more than 200 military medics and engineers from Afghanistan
in 2007 after dozens of South Korean Christian missionaries were held captive
there. Two were killed.
South Korea currently has medical civilians at a U.S. base in Afghanistan and
plans to increase the number to 85 by year's end.
The security meetings come ahead of a four-nation Asian trip by U.S. President
Barack Obama next month. Obama will be in Seoul in mid-November, according to the
South Korean government.
The MCM will be an opportunity to follow up on agreements made earlier this year
between Obama and his South Korean counterpart, Lee Myung-bak, Brig. Gen. Wee
Seung-ho said in a briefing earlier this week.
Following the May 25 nuclear test by North Korea, the U.S. promised to bolster
its measures to defend South Korea under the concept of "extended deterrence."
The concept is based on the willingness of the U.S. to dispatch a variety of
advanced military assets, including submarines and bombers, to the Korean
Peninsula in the event of a conflict.
The allies were also to examine their progress in preparations for the 2012
transfer of wartime operational command of South Korean forces from Washington to
Seoul.
The command was given to the U.S. at the onset of the Korean War. Only peacetime
control was handed back in 1994.
"It is a great, great opportunity for us to continue to strengthen our
relationship," Mullen said at the beginning of the meeting that took place mostly
behind closed doors.
"I look forward to the discussions today and the SCM tomorrow," he said, leading
a team that included Adm. Robert Willard, the new commander of the Pacific
Command and Gen. Walter Sharp, who oversees the U.S. Forces Korea.
The allies remain technically at war with North Korea as the Korean War ended in
a truce rather than a peace treaty. Gates arrived in Seoul on Wednesday and was
to speak to troops at a U.S. garrison based in the South Korean capital.
samkim@yna.co.kr
(END)
