Seoul Reviews U.S. Military Ties - WSJ.com
Currently the transfer of wartime operational control of US troops in Korea to Korean defense ministry is set to 2015(Agreed to no more delay). After this point, the US troops are controlled by the Korean MoD's Chief of Staff in war time.
Korea is the only country where US troops come under the control of a non-US government in wartime. Why? Because Korean military command is considered to be competent enough to command US troops by the US, which may stun Chinese nationalists.
Seoul Weighs Shift in U.S. Military Ties
MAY 31, 2010
For the longer term, President Lee Myung-bak's conservative government could seek to alter the alliance's command structure and Seoul's weapons arsenal in ways that would affect the Pentagon's current strategic planning for Northeast Asia, according to these officials
South Korean defense strategists already are publicly pressing Mr. Lee to delay the planned 2012 transfer of operational control of the combined U.S.-South Korean fighting force to Seoul from Washington, arguing South Korea isn't prepared yet to oversee American forces.
The agreement between Washington and Seoul has a clause that allows South Korea's president to formally request a suspension of the transfer. The U.S. currently deploys 29,000 troops in South Korea, and the South Korean military deploys 600,000.
Currently the transfer of wartime operational control of US troops in Korea to Korean defense ministry is set to 2015(Agreed to no more delay). After this point, the US troops are controlled by the Korean MoD's Chief of Staff in war time.
Korea is the only country where US troops come under the control of a non-US government in wartime. Why? Because Korean military command is considered to be competent enough to command US troops by the US, which may stun Chinese nationalists.