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U.S. Nukes to Return to South Korea
Seoul and Washington will add use of nuclear arms by U.S. forces in response to North Korean atomic weapons in a joint operation strategy codenamed OPLAN 5027, sources said Thursday. That would mean the return of U.S. tactical nuclear weapons to South Korea 15 years after they were pulled out in 1991.At the 28th Military Committee Meeting (MCM) between the allies, Gen. Lee Sang-hee, the chairman of South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff met his U.S. counterpart Gen. Peter Pace in Washington on Wednesday. The two mandated U.S. Forces Korea Commander Gen. Burwell Bell to draw up plans for the U.S. provision of a nuclear umbrella for South Korea in the wake of the Norths nuclear test, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said. "We asked for a detailed guarantee of a nuclear umbrella to guard against North Korea's nuclear weapons, and the U.S. agreed, said Rear Adm. Ahn Ki-seok, chief of the JCS' strategic planning department. Strategic guidelines were given to the USFK commander immediately to come up with plans to provide a nuclear umbrella for us." The USFK commander is likely to include his plan for tactical nuclear weapons in a nuclear appendix to OPLAN 5027 rather than draw up a separate Combined Forces Command plan for military preparedness against nuclear threats, sources said. "The U.S. nuclear umbrella plans will be laid out in more detail and depth in a joint statement after the Security Consultative Meeting (SCM) on Friday," Ahn said. Meanwhile, the U.S. said analysis of satellite data showed signs of Pyongyang's preparing a second nuclear test such as digging at three sites, including Punggye-ri in North Hamgyeong Province where the first test took place, and movement at military bases to launch Rodong and Scud missiles, according to the sources. The U.S. also said Pyongyang's first nuclear test was either a partial success or a near failure, they added. On the issue of Washington handing over wartime operational control of Korean troops to Seoul, the two chairmen signed off on changes in the command structure' that would dismantle the CFC and instead set up a Military Cooperation Center but failed to agree the most contentious issue, namely when that will happen. Instead, they proposed the question should be addressed by the two countries defense chiefs at the SCM on Friday. "Washington still aims for 2009 and Seoul for 2012 for the handover of wartime operation control, and it is highly likely that the SCM will fail to produce agreement as well, a Defense Ministry official said. Posted by: john 2006-10-20 |
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