South Korean Lawmakers Challenge USFK Chief Over DMZ Sovereignty Remarks
Ruling party lawmakers have demanded a retraction and apology after the US Forces Korea commander described South Korea as beginning at the southern fence of the Demilitarized Zone.
South Korean ruling party lawmakers have accused the commander of US Forces Korea and the United Nations Command of overstepping his authority in remarks about where the country’s territory begins near the Demilitarized Zone.
Rep. Kim Byung-joo of the Democratic Party of Korea said Saturday that Gen. Xavier Brunson should retract the comments and apologize to the South Korean public. Kim, a retired four-star Army general who serves on the National Assembly’s National Defense Committee, argued that the remarks infringed upon South Korea’s territorial sovereignty.
The dispute centers on comments Brunson made at a policy forum in Washington on Wednesday. He said fences stand roughly 2 kilometers north and south of the Military Demarcation Line and added that the Republic of Korea begins at the southern fence. The Republic of Korea is South Korea’s official name.
The Military Demarcation Line runs through the middle of the DMZ, while the southern fence marks the buffer zone’s southern boundary. Kim said the 1953 Armistice Agreement authorizes the United Nations Command to control access to and administer the DMZ but does not empower it to define the territorial sovereignty of South Korea.
His criticism was joined by Rep. Jin Sung-joon, another Democratic Party lawmaker and chair of the National Assembly’s National Defense Committee. Jin said Friday that Brunson’s language could create a serious misunderstanding about the extent of South Korean sovereignty.
The lawmakers’ response highlights the political sensitivity surrounding the DMZ’s legal and military administration. The armistice halted fighting in the Korean War but did not produce a peace treaty, leaving the dividing line and surrounding buffer zone subject to a distinctive command structure. US Forces Korea maintains about 28,500 personnel in the country, while the United Nations Command oversees armistice-related responsibilities.
Jin also used the controversy to call for South Korea to consider exercising operational control of its military in both peacetime and wartime. He urged a review of the planned structure for a future combined command after the transfer of wartime operational control.
The dispute adds a sovereignty dimension to longstanding debates in Seoul over alliance command arrangements. Kim’s demand focused on a public withdrawal of Brunson’s formulation, while Jin linked the episode to the broader question of how South Korea and the United States should divide authority within their military alliance.