S. Korea Wants Control of Army, Roh Says

Roh Tae Woo, the ruling Democratic Justice Party’s candidate for president, said Thursday that in the 1990s, South Korea will try to regain control of its armed forces, which are now commanded by an American general.

Last month in Washington, Roh had mentioned the command issue as a “problem for the future,” but his remark Thursday was his first reference to it in connection with his campaign. Growing nationalistic sentiment among younger Koreans, including military officers and students, has added the issue to the list of grievances that South Koreans have against the United States.

U.S. command of South Korean troops dates back to the Korean War, in 1950-53, when the United States headed a United Nations command that included South Korean and other non-American troops fighting an invading force from North Korea, and later Chinese forces. It continued when South Korea refused to sign an armistice, leaving the United States as the only guarantor of the peace.

Roh said nothing about what South Korea would do to maintain the armistice in the event that Washington gives up control of South Korea’s forces.

When Strong Enough

“It is quite natural for the nation to be given back the right to control its military forces when it is equipped with sufficient military power to defend itself,” he said.

That time will come, he said, in the 1990s, when South Korea’s military capability reaches a level of about 80% of the north’s. He estimated that the south’s capability now is 62% of the north’s.

According to U.S. officials, there have already been informal talks about relinquishing control of South Korean troops, but they have refrained from publicly stating a clear policy on the question.

Roh, calling for a presidential election campaign based on policy debates rather than “slander, as in the past,” said he will work to bring about the reinstatement of civil servants who were purged in 1980 by President Chun Doo Hwan.

“I believe they should be given an opportunity to work for the nation,” he said.

About 8,000 government officials were forced to resign after Chun seized power in 1980. Roh, who retired as a four-star general in 1981, was a leading member of Chun’s ruling junta.

Mentions Kwangju Issue

Roh also took up the sensitive issue of Kwangju, the southwestern city where demonstrations against Chun’s takeover turned into a 10-day uprising in May, 1980. By official count, 194 people were killed as troops suppressed the rebellion.

Roh said the Kwangju city government will be given administrative control over two neighboring towns next Jan. 1, a move he said will strengthen the city’s power to attract investment. He said the ruling and opposition parties should make a joint effort to “heal the scars of the Kwangju incident.”

Meanwhile, a spokesman for Kim Dae Jung, who comes from the Kwangju region, said that Kim will address a rally Sunday and make his “most specific remarks to date” on whether he will run for president.

The spokesman, Han Kwang Ok, said Kim can be expected to announce his decision on the candidacy immediately after the National Assembly approves a new constitution. The assembly action is expected Monday.

Denounces Suggestion

Kim Young Sam, president of the Reunification Democratic Party, denounced suggestions that he said some opposition figures had made that he and Kim Dae Jung abandon their effort to agree on which of them should be the opposition candidate and both join the race against Roh.

“That,” he told reporters, “would only play into the hands of the Democratic Justice Party’s campaign strategy (of splitting the opposition) and betray the people’s hopes for democracy and an end to military rule.”