Secretary Cohen Sept. 19 News Briefing in Bangkok
DoD News Briefing Secretary of Defense William Cohen September 19, 2000 (Press conference in Bangkok, Thailand) Q: Mr. Secretary, Charlie Aldinger of Reuters. Do budding talks between North and South Korea, the upcoming meeting between the defense ministers of the two countries, and the opening of a rail line through the DMZ between the two countries signal a major easing of tensions on the peninsula? And, do you expect any progress or perhaps a final conclusion to a new SOFA agreement, while you are there? Cohen: On the SOFA agreement, we continue to have good and productive discussions. At this time, I don't anticipate that we will be able to conclude those discussions by the end of my visit there. But, we are satisfied that good progress is being made. With respect to the North-South tensions being eased, I think it is clear that there has been a reduction in the tensions that have previously existed. But, I think we are in the first stages of a move toward reconciliation or rapprochement, or some state of positive affairs between North and South. I think we need to be very cautious. We are encouraged by the steps that we see being taken, but, we must remain vigilant because of the size of the army that North Korea still maintains -- their status of being forward-deployed with as many as 800,000 (troops) are still forward-deployed with a large amount of artillery. That could certainly pose a serious threat to the people of Seoul and beyond. It's important that as these steps are taken, that we remain vigilant. I think that prudence is the watchword for all concerned. However, we certainly have been encouraged by the steps that have been taken to date.
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