South Korean and U.S. forces will be better ready to deter and defeat North Korea's provocations as they delayed Seoul's retaking of wartime operational control (OPCON) over its troops from
Washington, the top U.S. commander here said Wednesday.
President Lee Myung-bak and U.S. President Barack Obama met in Canada Saturday and agreed to delay the transfer three years to 2015, displaying the strength of their alliance amid heightened tensions over Pyongyang's deadly sinking of a Seoul warship in March.
"The result will make our allied forces more agile, adaptive and able to defeat North Korea across the spectrum of conflicts, including provocations, terrorism, aggressions and invasions," Army Gen. Walter Sharp told an
audience at Yongsan Garrison, the main U.S. military headquarters in central Seoul.
Sharp made the remarks at a farewell ceremony for the outgoing chairman of South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Lee Sang-eui.
In the wake of the delay of the OPCON transition, Sharp said, "We have better plans to fight and win."
"Our alliance will be even stronger as we synchronize emerging capabilities of the Republic of Korea armed forces and the changes of
ROK-U.S. command and control structures," Sharp said, using South Korea's official name.
Under a 2007 deal, South Korea was due to regain the OPCON from the U.S. on April 17, 2012. But the transfer has now been pushed back to Dec. 1, 2015.
A multinational probe concluded last month that North Korea was behind the torpedo attack on the Cheonan warship, killing 46 sailors in the tense Yellow Sea border. North Korea has denied its responsibility and threatened that any punishment attempts will trigger a war.
About 28,500 U.S. troops are stationed in South Korea, a legacy of the 1950-53 Korean War.