U.S., S.Korea set 2012 for military command changes

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States and South Korea on Friday said they would dissolve by 2012 an arrangement dating from the Korean War under which Seoul's military forces were put under the control of U.S.-led U.N. forces.

South Korea remains technically at war with North Korea because the 1950-1953 war ended in a truce instead of a peace treaty.

At that time, Seoul ceded wartime command to U.S.-led U.N. forces that helped fight off a North Korean invasion. Seoul assumed peacetime command over its troops in 1994.

The agreement by U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and South Korean Defense Minister Kim Jang-soo removed a major point of friction between the two allies.

The two countries said the U.N. command, which has overseen the South Korean military forces and the U.S. military in that country, would be dissolved and the U.S.-South Korean military alliance would be restructured.

"The two sides will disestablish the current ROK-U.S. Combined Forces Command on April 17, 2012, and complete the transition to the new supporting-supported command relationship between U.S. and ROK forces at the same time," the Pentagon said in a statement.

ROK stands for the Republic of Korea, which will take on greater responsibilities for its defense under a plan that will be completed in July.

Under Gates' predecessor, Donald Rumsfeld, the United States had proposed that South Korea take over wartime control of its troops in 2009, while Seoul insisted it would not be ready until 2012.

"The approach that we're taking is an incremental approach, using our normal training cycles and developing this road map to determine those things that need to be in place for both sides to be comfortable with this transition," said Air Force Maj. David Smith, a Pentagon spokesman.

Gates and Kim also agreed to work closely to accelerate the relocation and consolidation of U.S. military units and facilities, the Pentagon said.

The United States has about 30,000 troops in South Korea to support the South's 650,000 soldiers, who face North Korea's 1.2-million-member army.