US, S.Korea sign agreement on military mission transfers

South Korea and the United States signed an agreement here on Wednesday to transfer six military missions from the US Forces Korea (USFK) to South Korean forces.

The agreement was signed by Gen. Leon J. LaPorte, commander of the USFK, and Lee Sang-hee, chairman of the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), at the South Korean Ministry of National Defense, according to a news release of the USFK.

"These mission transfers are a part of the larger Missions Transfer Agreement approved by the 25th South Korea-US Military Committee Meeting in 2003," the release said.

"The transfer of these six missions to the South Korean military is a positive reflection of the increased capabilities of South Korean forces," the release added.

However, the release of the USFK did not specify the contents of the six missions.

US artillery assets stationed along the inter-Korean border will not be withdrawn and will come under the command of the South Korean military, the statement said.

"The 3rd ROK (Republic of Korea) Army is confirmed to have sufficient capability to command and control a counter-fire mission" after joint training with the US earlier this year, the statement added.

In November 2003, South Korea and the US agreed that the host nation would take over 10 major security roles from the US side. South Korea plans to take over by December 2006 the remaining four missions.

The US stations about 32,500 troops in South Korea, and plans to cut the troop level to 25,000 by 2008.

Source: Xinhua