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Presence in Korea to be cut by one-third by end of 2005
As part of a new strategy to realign its overseas military presence, the United States is set to permanently remove 12,500 soldiers from the 37,000-strong U.S. forces in Korea by the end of next year, a Seoul official said yesterday.

The troop cut includes the 3,600 soldiers of the 2nd Brigade in the 2nd Infantry Division now positioned along the South-North Korean border, who will be redeployed on combat duty to Iraq late this summer.

"By the end of December 2005, the U.S. Forces Korea will be reduced by 12,500, which includes the 3,600 soldiers being redeployed to Iraq," Kim Sook, director-general of the North American Affairs Bureau at the Foreign Ministry, told a news conference.

"Both sides will take the negotiations on the realignment issue as a guideline and use it as an opportunity to further strengthen the Korea-U.S. alliance."

Kim stressed both Seoul and Washington agreed that "capabilities outweigh numbers" and the reduction of military manpower will not be a hindrance in maintaining peace on the Korean Peninsula.

"After the reduction of U.S. Forces Korea is completed, the total number of soldiers will stand at around 25,000. New weapons technology will be introduced to strengthen military capabilities to cope with any possible threat and the efficient counter-defense capabilities will be enhanced under the GPR."

The plans were announced to South Korean officials during a 2-1/2 hour closed-door meeting a day ahead of schedule on Sunday night, when the two sides discussed the realignment of American soldiers in Korea.

The meeting was initially scheduled to take place alongside the 9th Future of the Alliance Policy Initiative talks yesterday and today. Details to the troop reduction will be worked out in upcoming FOTA meetings, mainly through military channels, Kim said.

Kim, along with Wi Sung-lak, senior policy coordinator of the National Security Council and Army Maj. Gen. Han Min-gu, director general of international cooperation at the Defense Ministry, were the three-member team for the talks.

Washington's special task force included Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Richard Lawless and State Department representative to the FOTA talks Evans Revere, who is also deputy U.S. ambassador to Seoul.

The troop reduction is part of Washington's new Global Defense Posture Review, which will also affect Japan and Germany. The GPR is Pentagon's new military strategy to realign its overseas presence in what it sees as a more efficient, flexible and suitable defense system to fit the needs of the 21st century.

Just weeks earlier, in what appeared to be a prelude to the U.S. troop cuts, Washington announced its decision to transfer 3,600 troops currently in South Korea to Iraq by August at the latest.

The U.S. moves have stoked concerns among South Koreans who still have the bitter memories of the 1950-53 Korean War and come at a time when the North's communist regime is trying to expand its nuclear arsenal. Six-nation talks to resolving the North's nuclear threat are due to resume in Beijing from June 23 to 25.

Washington has continued to stress that the reduction of Uncle Sam's military presence will not in any way heighten security risks on the peninsula -- especially since its $11 billion investment for force improvement programs over the next three years will boost the combined South Korea-U.S. defense capabilities against North Korean threats.

South Korea also had plans to spend about $2 billion annually over the next decade to introduce high-tech weapons to improve its defense capabilities and become more self-reliant.

Meantime, the 9th round of FOTA meetings kicked off yesterday focusing on the relocating of Yongsan Garrison in Seoul to the outskirts of the capital by 2007.

The Yongsan base, occupying 630 acres of prime property in the capital, houses the USFK headquarters, the 8th U.S. Army, the Combined Forces Command and the United Nations Command.

Another key issue on the agenda is the planned redeployment of some 3,600 soldiers of U.S. Forces Korea to Iraq, following last month's announcement by Washington that it would send the 2nd Infantry Division positioned along the South-North border to Iraq this summer for combat duty.

The relocation, if carried out, would leave few U.S. troops between Seoul and the Demilitarized Zone that bisects the two Koreas and it would keep U.S. troops outside the range of North Korea's artillery.

By Choi Soung-ah (bluelle@heraldm.com)