S. Korean president calls for preparation for early transfer of wartime operational control from U.S.

SEOUL, Dec. 8 (Xinhua) -- South Korean President Moon Jae-in called on key military commanders on Friday to prepare for the early transfer of wartime operational control from the United States.

Moon invited major commanders of the country's military to his office for lunch, saying conditions should be rapidly prepared for the transfer of wartime operational command of South Korean forces from Washington.

The South Korean leader said the transfer would depend on whether his country's military secures a leading capability for the South Korea-U.S. combined defense, according to the presidential Blue House.

South Korea's wartime command was handed over to the U.S. forces after the 1950-1953 Korean War broke out. The country won back its peacetime operational control in 1994.

Seoul and Washington had agreed to the conditions-based transfer of wartime operational control of South Korean troops from Washington to Seoul when South Korea's military is capable of leading the combined defense on the Korean Peninsula.

Moon said the military should strengthen its core capability to realize the "responsible defense" under which South Korea's military takes responsibility for the defense of its own country.

Moon has emphasized that any war must not break out on the peninsula again. Moon told the military commanders that they had a given mission of keeping peace and prosperity on the peninsula, saying strong security and responsible defense cannot be separated from peace and prosperity on the peninsula. Enditem