Seoul (AsiaNews) – South Korean President Roh Moo Hyun wants to scrap the 1953 armistice in favour of a permanent peace treaty with North Korea and to take back control of its military from the United States. US generals still retain wartime command of South Korean troops.

At a news conference on Wednesday, Roh expressed hope that talks on a permanent peace treaty for the Korean Peninsula might begin, replacing the 1953 armistice with North Korea.

"We will resolutely prepare for negotiations [. . .] for the establishment of a peace regime on the Korean Peninsula," he said, pledging efforts to peacefully settle the stalemate over the North's nuclear programmes.

Roh also addressed the issue of military command. "We will closely consult with the US side to conclude the issue of command transfer this year, along with the bilateral study on the future development of the South Korea-US military alliance," he said.

"If not within this year, the two sides will strive to speed up talks on the matter," he added.

As part of efforts to achieve a "cooperative but more self-reliant"' defence capability, the Roh administration has sought to take back control of its military during wartime from the US government.

South Korea reclaimed authority to control its military during peacetime in 1994. But wartime control has remained with an American general as chief of the US-led UN Command, or the South Korea-US Combined Forces Command, since the Korean War ended in a truce, not a peace treaty.

The two countries plan to launch their own task forces responsible for studying the issue in an in-depth manner next month.

The inaugural meeting will be held on the sidelines of the Security Policy Initiative (SPI) meeting in the United States next month, an official at the Defence Ministry said.

"The results of the task forces' study will be dealt with during the annual defence chiefs' talks slated for October," Lt. Col. Lee Jae-hyung at the ministry's public affairs office said. "But the detailed timetable on the issue will not be presented in a short period as it is such a complicated matter".

The United States maintains about 30,000 troops in South Korea as deterrence against North Korea. South Korea has 680,000 troops.