US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo worries inter-Korean deal might weaken South Korea’s ability to fend off a North Korean attack
A gap is growing between Washington and Seoul over an inter-Korean military pact that Washington worries might weaken South Korea’s defenses against a North Korea attack.
South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said U. S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo expressed discontent when she spoke to him after Seoul outlined plans to sign a military agreement with Pyongyang at the third inter-Korean summit in September.
Pompeo’s concern over Seoul’s military agreement with Pyongyang comes as relations cool between South Korea and the United States. The growing distance is the result of inter-Korean ties that seem to be getting warmer and faster than the North is making progress in denuclearization.
According to Bruce Bechtol, a retired Marine and former intelligence officer at the Defense Intelligence Agency, who researches North Korea’s military at Angelo State University in Texas, Seoul made concessions in the military deal, while Pyongyang gave up very little.
“(South Korean) President Moon (Jae-in) is rushing into a lot of moves before the North Koreans actually make their own reciprocal moves,” Bechtol said. “And I think that that’s dangerous.”
The agreement includes setting up a no-fly zone, as well as maritime and ground buffer zones around the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), the area that divides the two Koreas. The two also agreed to stop military drills targeting each other near the military demarcation line that runs within the DMZ.
In an effort to create “a peace zone” along the heavily fortified border near the DMZ, Seoul and Pyongyang agreed to clear landmines near the area. The process began Oct. 1.
The United Nations Command (UNC), led by the U. S., oversees the 2.4-kilometer-wide DMZ.
The commander of the U. S. Forces in Korea (USFK) serves as the commander in chief of the UNC and the Combined Forces Command (CFC). South Korea and U. S. forces operate jointly under the CFC to defend the southern half of the Korean Peninsula.
The UNC said in a statement that it had “reviewed and verified the mine clearance work” and added that it “will continue to work closely” with the two Koreas “to synchronize implementation efforts on the way ahead.”
Experts worry the agreement could make it harder for South Korean and U. S. forces to fend off a North Korean attack.
