US ‘soft military’ warning to South Korea.
After the United Nations Command (UNC) in South Korea, which is under the authority of the United Nations Security Council and led by the United States, issued a statement expressing opposition to the recent legal efforts by the Seoul government to access the demilitarized zone (DMZ), which is under the control of the command, the commander of US Forces Korea (USFK) responded to the Seoul government’s efforts in this regard by issuing a soft military warning to South Korea; while opposing it, he stated that the demilitarized zone should not be “politicized.”
Yonhap News Agency reported on Saturday that the commander of US Forces Korea (USFK) expressed opposition to a bill in South Korea that sought to grant “civilian” access control to the demilitarized zone between the two Koreas, stating that the demilitarized zone (DMZ) should not be “politicized.”
The comments by USFK commander General Xavier Brunson came after the UN Command (UNC) recently issued a statement opposing the bill under consideration by the Seoul government, while he himself is the UNC commander.
Brunson’s report, therefore, said that the armistice agreement that ended the 1950-53 Korean War should continue to be the yardstick by which the two Koreas conduct their behavior, and that under that agreement, the UN Security Council now has the authority to approve or deny access to the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ).
Brunson, speaking against Seoul’s move to access a part of its territory that is now occupied by a US-led multinational force, said: “What we want to do is not let that area become political, because we (the US) signed an agreement to say that we will maintain this buffer zone here.”
Yonhap further reported: The commander of US forces stationed in South Korea, noting that South Korea has recently held military talks with North Korea on how to clarify the military demarcation line in the demilitarized zone to prevent possible clashes near the border between the two Koreas, reminded the South Korean side that all measures must be based on the ceasefire agreement (under the authority of the Security Council and supervised by the US).