The Transition Committee has stated its intentions to reopen talks with the U.S. in order to “renegotiate” the schedule for the transfer of wartime command to the ROK. It cited the need to take into account the security situation of the Korean peninsula and Korea’s defense capabilities. And I thought the 2012 transfer was a done deal.
-
English Books on Korea... and More!
-
Visit My Brother's Film Review Site
5 Comments
Regardless of how this pans out for the ROK, does the U.S. always maintain control of its own units that are stationed in the ROK? What is the U.S. troop count now?
Thanks!
WRT this issue, the bus has left the station. I suspect U.S. policy will not change and the opcon transfer will continue as scheduled.
What are the motivations for that? The US plans on getting out? They want to back off a bit because they can see the end of North Korea coming? If so, is it because they want to appear less threatening to China so that it doesn’t send its troops into North Korea or do they expect China to do it no matter what and don’t want to be stuck with their balls nailed to the floor when the shit hits the fan?
There are major budgetary issues ongoing in DoD because of the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, so the opcon xfer gives us flexibility or options to drawdown. Also, the Armitage-Nye Report a few years back seems to have gained much traction - Japan being the strategic imperative.
LMB is first and foremost a business man. It’s good business for the Koreans to keep the Miguks here as long as they can and save the billions they’d otherwise have to spend on upgrading their own forces for defense.
Roh was first and foremost a bumpkin…after that he was an idiot and then a nationalist so he wanted the Miguks out asap regardless of the costs his country would have to pick up. That’s not good business from the Korean perspective.