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| US Rebuffs Talk Of More Detailed Nuclear Umbrella For South Korea | |
| 2006-10-21 | |
| The United States will make no change in its standard commitment to extend a nuclear umbrella over South Korea despite reports that Seoul is seeking a more detailed understanding, a senior US defense official said Thursday. Annual US-South Korean defense talks will conclude Friday with a final communique containing the same language on the US commitment that it has every year since 1978, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "We have really no plans to discuss the details of the umbrella either publicly or privately," said the official.
The official said he was addressing the issue because of speculation in South Korea and the region in the wake of North Korea's nuclear test October 9. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was in Seoul Thursday to discuss how to respond to North Korea's nuclear test. US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld meets here Friday with South Korean Defense Minister Yoon Kwang-ung in the final session of the annual military talks. Before the talks began, a South Korean official was reported to have said both sides will try to spell out the US nuclear umbrella pledge in detail. Seoul was considering asking Washington, which withdrew all its nuclear weapons from the peninsula in 1991, to elaborate on what types of tactical nuclear weapons can be provided, the official said. The US official said the South Koreans had not pressed for a more detailed pledge. South Korea gave up its quest for nuclear weapons in the 1970s under strong US pressure. The US official said Washington assumed Seoul would stick by its commitment not to pursue its own nuclear weapons capability, which he said was codified in the 1992 agreement on de-nuclearizing the Korean peninsula. "The suggestion has been that the North Koreans have let's say torn the agreement up," the official said. "The South Korean government continues to state that it is bound by and will continue to adhere to that agreement and considers it to be still in force, which is a very important point of departure for us to engage with the North Koreans in the future," he said. Rumsfeld warned on Tuesday, however, of the risk of a rapid spread of nuclear weapons to other states if the international community fails to stop North Korea and Iran's nuclear programs. The senior US defense official sought to play down South Korean reports that talks would cover changes in contingency planning to reflect that North Korea has nuclear weapons. He said the alliance was already so close "really means there is nothing new here to be planned, as far as wartime planning goes." "We're very comfortable with where all of our planning is right now. Our plans are in place. We have total agreement with all of our allies. So this is not an issue of concern," he said. On another issue, the official said the two sides were still at odds over the timing of a plan to transfer to the South Koreans wartime control of their troops. The US side wants it to happen in 2009, whereas the South Koreans say they will not be ready until 2012. and in the remainder of article South Korea discusses its WORRIES OF A NUCLEAR JAPAN | |
| Posted by:3dc |
| #4 What's the newser on CSPAN, Rummy in his stride. Clearly a case of batting the 'bad boy' over the the Sorks. |
| Posted by: Captain America 2006-10-21 19:22 |
| #3 We're looking forward to the day we can say, fondly, "So long, and thanks for all the kimchee." |
| Posted by: Perfesser 2006-10-21 11:39 |
| #2 Translation: "start cleaning up your own mess"? |
| Posted by: JSU 2006-10-21 01:36 |
| #1 Shades of Reagan-era FLEXIBLE RESPONSE - the "good" kind of political correctness. Keep your opponent(s) biting their fingers + making secret plans to defect to the West iff they screw up. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2006-10-21 01:07 |