Korea, US sign strategic guideline on combined defense

[soryang]

Korea, US sign strategic guideline on combined defense

The defense chiefs of South Korea and the United States on Wednesday signed a strategic guideline on how their combined defense mechanism will operate.

The guideline, called “Alliance Guiding Principles,” contains a set of commitments to continue to station US troops in Korea, retain the allies’ Combined Forces Command and the UN Command, and have a South Korean four-star general lead the CFC.

Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo and his US counterpart James Mattis inked the document after they held their 50th Security Consultative Meeting in Washington, the allies’ annual top defense dialogue.

The guideline sought to dispel worries among conservatives that the OPCON transfer may eventually lead to the pullout — or drawdown — of American forces in Korea, the dissolution of the CFC and a weakening of the allies’ combined defense posture.

There is much more information about this major development in recent US ROK relations:

https://asianews.network/2018/11/01/korea-us-sign-strategic-guideline-on-combined-defense/

According to an expert quoted on VOA Nov 3:

Putting a Korean General in charge does two things. One, it demonstrates US confidence in Korean leadership, but two there is really no change to the control of the combined forces because it still answers to the military committee as it always have (sic) and will continue to do so. Of course, the military committee is made up of representatives of both nation's national command in military authorities; the ROK Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, of both countries, the US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Minister of Defense, Secretary of Defense, the PACOM Commander. So that would continue to provide the strategic direction and the guidance to the combined forces command.

The US will assign a general officer to serve as deputy commander CFC after the OPCON transition. After verification inspections of ROK armed forces capability to provide wartime OPCON command functions next year, the transition will be carried out.

Mattis and Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo issued a communique that affirmed both sides commitment to carry out UN Security Council resolutions until confidence in full DPRK denuclearization and joint support for the recent changes in the military agreement signed by North and South Korea.