Any military action against North Korea will be conducted based on a consensus between South Korea and the United States, Gen Leon J. LaPorte, commander of the United States Forces Korea (USFK), said Monday.
Attending the inauguration ceremony of a lawmakers' forum on security issues at the National Assembly in Seoul, the USFK chief said the U.S. administration will inform the South Korean government of any possible plan on military actions against the North before implementing it, according to Rep. Song Young-sun of the main opposition Grand National Party (GNP).
Song also quoted LaPorte as saying that the U.S. has no "intention" to conduct a preemptive strike on Pyongyang, stressing the Bush administration's position that the standoff over North Korea's nuclear weapons programs should be resolved through dialogue.
Song, a member of the Assembly's National Defense Committee, leads the National Assembly Security Forum. The group has 13 members including Reps. Park Jin of the GNP and Yoo Jay-kun of the ruling Uri Party.
LaPorte's remarks came amid controversy over a military contingency plan, which has been pursued by the South Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command (CFC) since last year. |