South Korea's planned retaking of the wartime operational command over its troops from the United States in late 2015 will not be pushed back again as the country's military will become strong enough to exercise control by then, the defense minister said Sunday.
South Korea had been scheduled to get back the wartime operational control (OPCON) over its forces, which the country handed over to Washington during the 1950-53 Korean War to defend against invading troops from North Korea, from the U.S. in 2012.
Late last month, however, President Lee Myung-bak and U.S. President Barack Obama agreed to postpone the OPCON transition until Dec. 1, 2015 in a display of strengthening their alliance following North Korea's deadly torpedo attack on a South Korean warship in March.
The agreement has prompted critics to raise speculation that the plan could be delayed again in 2015.
"There won't be an additional delay," Defense Minister Kim Tae-young told KBS television. "By the end of 2015, our military will be able to secure core capabilities" necessary to take over the OPCON, he said.
Before the recent agreement on delaying the transfer, conservatives have argued that South Korea's military capabilities were not yet strong enough to take it back in 2012, and that the transfer would undercut the security alliance with the U.S. and reduce the ally's support to South Korea.
Calls for delaying the 2012 transition plan grew stronger after the North's attack on the South Korean warship Cheonan in March, the deadliest naval disaster between the two Koreas in decades after the 1950-53 Korean War.
Kim also dismissed concerns that the command transfer could lead to a weakening of the country's alliance with the U.S. or withdrawal of American troops stationed in South Korea, saying the U.S. will continue to provide military support for the South after the transfer.
About 28,500 American troops are stationed here to deter threats from the North.
