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8th U.S. Army to Stay in Korea
The U.S. Forces Korea last Friday confirmed that the Eighth Army will stay in South Korea even when full operational control of South Korean troops is transferred to Seoul in 2012. USFK headquarters said the relocation of U.S. military bases to Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province and the Eighth Army's stay will consolidate U.S. commitment to a strong Seoul-Washington alliance and the defense of South Korea. A senior Defense Ministry official said USFK Commander Gen. Walter Sharp suggested to the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff and the U.S. Army late last year that the Eighth Army stay in Korea as the symbolic expression of the U.S. commitment to defend the Korean Peninsula, and the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff accepted. The USFK therefore decided not to create an Operational Command Post-Korea which had been mooted to replace the Eighth Army headquarters on relocation to Hawaii. A new Korea Command (KORCOM) will be established next year to replace the current USFK headquarters in preparation for the operational control handover in 2012. And KORCOM will oversee the Eighth Army and Second Infantry Division. A military source said the decision to keep the Eighth Army in South Korea is part of efforts to alleviate fears among South Koreans about the transfer of the operational control. Posted by: Steve White 2009-11-09 |
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