Seoul seeks to allay security concerns

Jon · Korean Citizen Joined: Mar 19, 2004 Posts: 525

Officials play down need to take steps to fill troop gap as of now

By Seo Hyun-jin

The government is trying to assure the public that the nation's war deterrence will not be undermined despite the relocation of some 3,600 U.S. soldiers in Korea to the conflict in Iraq, as the majority of citizens have raised security concerns about the gap.

Diplomatic and defense officials stressed yesterday that the loss of the ground forces, accounting for nearly a 10th of the total 37,000 U.S. troops based in Korea, would have no major repercussion on the national security and that it could be offset by other alternative measures like strengthening air forces and missile deployment.

The Pentagon will shift soldiers from the 2nd Brigade of the 2nd U.S. Infantry Division near the tense inter-Korean border to Iraq late this summer, making them rotate into the war-ravaged country on a one-year mission, U.S. defense officials in Washington and Seoul confirmed yesterday.

Following the announcement, the Korean public was split on the issue. Conservative forces urge the government to provide measures to fill the security vacuum coming amid North Korea's nuclear threat while liberals insist such concerns are exaggerated and the nation should brace for self-defense.

"There will be almost no substantial impact on our deterrence against war, but we are worrying about people's concerns based on their psychological dependence on U.S. forces," a senior government official told reporters on condition of anonymity.

The government feels no need to take steps to compensate the gap as of now, but will consider such measures when deemed necessary, the official added.

Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon said the military reduction and measures to offset it were coming as part of Washington's new strategy on its troops overseas, dubbed as the Global Positioning Review.

"The U.S. military will take every supplementary measure such as deploying Patriot missiles, strengthening air and naval forces, and increasing the number of bombers in the region," Ban said during a news briefing.

Ban added Washington has decided to spend $11 billion to enhance military capability on the Korean Peninsula over the next three years.

"I am confident that there will be no security vacuum and the redeployment will not deteriorate Korea-U.S. defense capability," Ban noted.

The minister said no decision has been made on whether the American soldiers will return to Korea after their mission in Iraq. But another government official expected they would leave the peninsula permanently as the pullout is in the context of Washington's longer-term reorganization of its forces in the South.

"We haven't officially started negotiations with the United States on its GPR but Washington relocates the Korea-based forces as it has met the urgent situation in Iraq," the official said while asking not to be identified.

Another security official said the United States has reviewed the idea of moving the 2nd Infantry Division down to south from the border with North Korea, the world's last remaining Cold War front, to let South Korea take the leading role for defending itself.

"The United States will proceed with streamlining of its forces here as part of the GPR, regardless of whether it will have a new president or not, and we should be ready for this," he said.

He added Seoul and Washington could reach an agreement on the troop pullout because they were confident of defusing the tension over Pyongyang's nuclear weapons development through diplomatic means.

"The nuclear situation has been effectively managed within the frame of six-party talks," he said.

The two Koreas, the United States, China, Japan and Russia have engaged in negotiations to seek a peaceful end to the standoff that erupted in October 2002.

(shj@heraldm.com)

Jon · Korean Citizen Joined: Mar 19, 2004 Posts: 525

[b:038740cd86]US To Move Troops From South Korea To Iraq[/b:038740cd86]

The United States has informed Seoul of its plan to move thousands of American troops stationed in South Korea to Iraq, South Korean officials said Monday.

"The U.S. government has told us that it needs to select some U.S. troops in South Korea and send them to Iraq to cope with the worsening situation there," said Kim Sook, head of the South Korean Foreign Ministry's North American Bureau.

"Discussions are underway between South Korea and the United States about details, including the size and timing of the redeployment of U.S. troops," he said.

Kim declined to comment about how many American troops would be pulled out of South Korea. But a diplomatic source in Seoul said the number may reach 4,000 as the United States in considering withdrawing a brigade-strength unit from its 2nd Infantry Division, currently deployed close to the heavily fortified border with communist North Korea.

The United States maintains 37,000 troops in South Korea to help defend it from a potential conflict with North Korea under a bilateral defense treaty signed after the 1950-1953 Korean War.