한미 국방장관, 50차 SCM에서 전작권환수 뒤 한국 주도 연합사 재편, 주한미군 유지
Seoul and Washington held an annual meeting on their defense arrangements.
At the Security Consultative Meeting it was agreed that even once wartime operational control of their forces is tranferred from the U.S. to South Korea, their core arrangement, the Combined Forces Command will be maintained.
Park Ji-won has more on what the allies accomplished during the session.
During this year's annual alliance meeting held in Washington,... South Korea's Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo and his U.S. counterpart James Mattis signed a strategic guideline on combined defense that will take effect after the transition of wartime operational control in the future.
They agreed that, when South Korea takes control from the U.S., the Combined Forces Command between the two countries will continue as the post-OPCON transition Combined Forces Command to maintain the allies' defense posture.
However, the current U.S.-led Combined Forces Command will become an ROK-led command,... with a South Korean four-star general or admiral leading it,.. while an American general or an admiral will serve as deputy commander.
They also agreed to continue to maintain the UN Command,... which has functioned as a guardian of the armistice agreement for the past 65 years,... preventing an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula.
The two confirmed U.S. Forces Kores will also continue to be stationed in South Korea,.. even after the OPCON transfer is complete.
"This year's SCM has greater importance and significance than any other meeting, not just due to the fact that it's the 50th of its kind, but also because it comes at a time in which we embark on an audacious journey toward denuclearization and the establishment of permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula."
"Signing this document we also reaffirm the continued presence of U.S. troops stationed on the Korean peninsula, in fulfillment of U.S. commitment to establish 65 years ago in our mutual defense treaty."
South Korea handed over operational control to the U.S.-led UN Command during the Korean War,... and it was later transferred to the Combined Forces Command in 1978.
South Korea regained peacetime OPCON in 1994.
But in case of war,.. Seoul and Washington agreed in 2014 that the transfer will be completed only when South Korea acquires, in a verifiable way, critical military capabilities necessary to lead the combined defense.
During this year's SCM, the two defense chiefs agreed to conduct a verification of South Korea's operational capability starting next year.
Meanwhile,... a decision on a major joint air defense exercise was also finally made.
During the meeting, Seoul and Washington agreed to suspend this year's Vigilant Ace,... originally scheduled to be held in December.
The move is aimed at strengthening current diplomatic efforts to negotiate with North Korea.
This year marked the 50th anniversary of the SCM since the annual meeting was launched back in 1968 to p
