"I think there will be no big problem to think that the perception of changes in the situation began with North Korea's second nuclear test after President Obama took office," Yu told a press briefing. "Reflecting the situation around the Korean Peninsula is important" in carrying out the command transfer plan, he said.
South Korea handed over control of its forces to the U.S. during the 1950-53 Korean War to defend against invading troops from North Korea. Peacetime control of its forces was returned in 1994, and the country is scheduled to get back the wartime operational control in April 2012.
Yu's remark came amid growing calls in South Korea for delaying the planned transfer in the wake of North Korea's sinking of the South Korean warship Cheonan in March, which killed 46 sailors.
Critics have claimed that South Korea's military capabilities are not yet strong enough, and that the transfer would undercut the security alliance with the U.S. and reduce the ally's support to South Korea.//Yonhap
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