Defense minister acknowledges rift over military academy merger, vows open dialogue

Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back said Friday that despite tensions with the alumni associations of the three military academies over a proposed merger, he believes open dialogue remains possible even if full reconciliation is not immediately achievable.

Ahn visited the press room at the Ministry of National Defense building in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, on Friday afternoon and said he had not settled on a specific number of public hearings. "We probably won't reach a consensus at the Aug. 26 hearing, but I think we need to hold a few more," he said.

"Even in wartime, we communicate and talk with the enemy — members of the same defense community must be able to talk to one another," he said. He added, "Our views may differ, but I believe we share the same goal."

Ahn said he has held multiple consultations with the United States on the transfer of wartime operational control. "The two countries may have slightly different views on some points, but I believe there has been no change in the broad framework," he said.

He said the Korea-US Integrated Defense Dialogue, the Military Committee Meeting and the Security Consultative Meeting would all be held on schedule as part of the process. "Our basic policy is to set the transfer year this year and then recover wartime operational control afterward, and that position has not changed," he said.

Earlier Friday, the combined alumni association of the three military academies claimed Ahn had told them the current separate-academy structure could be considered as an alternative. Ahn pushed back, saying, "How could I say we would maintain the current system while pursuing an integration?" He added that he considered such a claim fundamentally untenable.