Agence France-Presse,
Seoul, South Korea: US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and his South Korean counterpart agreed on Friday to speed up talks on changing the wartime command structure of South Korean forces, a joint statement said. Rumsfeld and South Korea Defense Minister Yoon Kwang-Ung agreed to “appropriately accelerate discussions on command relations and wartime operational control,” the statement said.
South Korean President Roh Moo-Hyun said last month that he wanted to assert operational control over South Korean forces in wartime. Under the existing mutual defense pact, operational control over South Korean forces would fall under a US general's command in wartime.
The two defense chiefs also reiterated their commitment to a combined defense posture and the US said it remained committed to providing South Korea with a nuclear umbrella. The joint statement was released after the conclusion of the annual review of the military alliance between Rumsfeld and Yoon and senior officials from both sides.
The statement expressed the hope that “North Korea's military threat will diminish gradually as a result of six-party talks and efforts at reconciliation between the two Koreas.” It said, however, “North Korea's continued development of weapons of mass destruction and long-range missiles along with a danger of proliferation of those weapons and technologies are causes of significant concern for the… alliance and the international community.”
