US still seeks military hegemony in s. Korea It has recently been exposed that the US plans to maintain control over operations through the UN Command even after returning the wartime operations control to south Korea, evoking a firestorm of public criticism. The plan was disclosed during the joint command post rehearsal last August. It had been advertised as a “verification drill” prior to handing over the wartime operations control. According to the south Korean media, during the drill the US forced the south Korean military to remain under the operational command of the UN Command after the transfer of the wartime control. In a nutshell, the playing up of the verification drill was just a trick on the public at home and abroad. The facts show that the US is unwilling to hand the command over to the south Korean army in any case. South Korean media outlets commented that even if the south Korea-US combined forces command is dissolved with the transfer, the US would not give up the actual command over the south Korean army but exercise it through the UN Command. Driven into a tight corner by the south Korean public’s demand for the handover of the operations control, the US reluctantly opened negotiations with the south Korean authorities as if to give back the power. As part of the show, they agreed to organize a “future combined forces command” after the return, in which a south Korean would become the commander and an American the deputy commander, and went ahead with the plan. However, the US now insists on exercising the operations control over the south Korean army through the UN Command, arguing that it cannot tolerate the command structure where American troops are ordered by a foreigner. The south Korean public are reacting strongly, asserting that the “future combined forces command” would be reduced to a shell if the UN Command keeps seizing the operations control. And they are demanding the withdrawal of GIs from south Korea and immediate dissolution of the UN Command, a legacy of the Cold War era. The US’ move to strengthen the position and role of the UN Command, rather than dissolving it, is a mockery of the south Koreans who are against the military domination of outside forces and a threat to peace and stability in the Korean peninsula and Asia. By Song Jong Ho PT