South Korea should delay the reassumption of wartime troop control from the United States until it is capable of successfully deterring North Korea's nuclear ambitions, Seoul's prime minister said Monday.
   
Last month, Seoul and Washington agreed to delay giving South Korea wartime operational control (OPCON) of its troops as the nation faces evolving nuclear and missile threats from the communist country. The allies expect the handover to take place in the mid-2020s when Seoul is expected to be armed with the necessary deterrents.
   
"As we are inferior to North Korea in terms of asymmetric power, it is the right decision to delay the OPCON transition until we are capable," Prime Minister Chung Hong-won said during the parliamentary interpellation session.
   
Noting that the communist country "has upgraded its nuclear weapons and has carried out missile tests," he stressed that, "What we should do is acquire all assets to refrain North Korea from having (nuclear and missile) ambitions."
   
Countering criticism by Rep. Shim Jae-kwon of the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy for the delay who called the decision "the abandonment of the national sovereignty," Chung underscored that the OPCON is a matter of having an effective "command structure." 
   
In response to complaints by some lawmakers over the government's failure to have the National Assembly ratify the decision to delay the transfer of wartime control, Chung said the decision was made through the agreement between the two countries' defense authorities, which is not subject to parliamentary ratification.
   
As part of efforts for a stronger deterrence against the North, South Korea has revved up efforts to develop the pre-emptive strike apparatus of the Korea Air and Missile Defense system, a low-tier air defense program, and the Kill Chain, which is designed to launch strikes right after signs are detected of imminent nuclear or missile provocations by Pyongyang. (Yonhap)