Kim Min-seok says reclaiming wartime operational control would bolster security

Democratic Party of Korea leader Kim Min-seok said Tuesday that South Korea reclaiming wartime operational control from the United States would now serve the country's security interests beyond being simply a matter of sovereignty.

"There was a time when it seemed more advantageous and reassuring for South Korea's security to have the United States exercise operational control," Kim said at the launch ceremony of the Democratic Party's task force on reclaiming operational control, held at the National Assembly on Tuesday morning. "The world is now changing to a stage where South Korea exercising operational control on its own is judged to be more genuinely helpful to security, including in terms of deterring North Korea."

Kim said the issue had evolved from a matter of principle to one of practical feasibility. "There was a period when reclaiming operational control was raised purely as a question of sovereignty," he said. "It has since shifted to a period of examining whether it is realistically achievable." He said the core question was ultimately whether South Korea had the conditions, capabilities and circumstances in place to actually exercise operational control.

"We believe progress has been made in that direction under cooperation between South Korea and the United States, and those efforts are still ongoing," he added.

Kim cited South Korea's growing national strength and defense capabilities, as well as the expansion of South Korea's role within the alliance, as conditions that make reclaiming operational control viable. "South Korea's national strength, including its defense capabilities, has continued to rise, and the South Korea-US relationship has shifted toward broadening South Korea's role," he said. "Under cooperation between the two countries, South Korea must reclaim operational control at an appropriate and well-prepared time."

He went on to say that the combined defense framework and the alliance with the United States must remain stable even after operational control is transferred. "We are moving into a new phase in which the South Korean military, after exercising operational control, still maintains a stable combined defense framework with the United States and continues to uphold the alliance," he said.

The Democratic Party officially launched the task force on reclaiming operational control, with Rep. Kim Byung-joo serving as its head. "It is at precisely such a moment that we are launching a task force to prepare for and handle the more substantive and realistic pursuit of reclaiming operational control," Kim said. "It seems the time has come to examine the issue of reclaiming operational control more earnestly and thoroughly."