hankyoreh

South Korea and the United States will maintain their current level of military cooperation, even if the Combined Forces Command (CFC) is disbanded following South Korea’s planned takeover of wartime military operational command from U.S. Forces Korea, the presidential office said.

The Blue House said it (U.S. Forces Korea) would dispatch the so-called "operation cooperative task force" to ensure cooperation between the nation’s ground, naval, and air forces when South Korea receives wartime command from the United States.

The two nations are currently in talks over the timeline of the command takeover. Seoul insists on 2012 for the handover, but Washington is pushing for 2009.

The presidential office also said that it will establish what it is calling "military coordination center" to guarantee the current level of cooperation between South Korea and the U.S. Like the CFC, the new headquarters will be placed under the aegis of the Security Consultative Meetings and the Military Committee, joint efforts that currently oversee military operations.

"At each operational headquarters, South Korea will play a leading role, with the U.S. taking a supporting one," a Blue House official said. "To aid cooperation between the two sides, we have agreed to dispatch an operational cooperative task force to our military."

It added that each military cooperative headquarters will cooperate with the others in drawing up operational plans, serving as channels for communication between command posts.

According to the Blue House, the headquarters will have 10 standing and non-standing agencies under the same roof, which will share in areas of intelligence, crisis management, and training, among others.

The presidential office’s announcement served to dismiss concerns that the return of operational command would mean South Korea necessarily asking for support from the U.S. in case of a war.