AFX.COM April 09, 2003
US military base to move from Seoul soon, troop withdrawal undecided
The US military will relocate its main base from the South Korean capital to a new location within the country as soon as possible, US and South Korean officials said in a statement.
"The two sides agreed to relocate Yongsan garrison as soon as possible," the statement said.
The statement followed two days of talks led by Richard Lawless, US deputy assistant secretary of defense for East Asia, and South Korea's assistant defense minister for policy, Cha Young-Koo, concluded earlier Wednesday.
No decision was taken during the talks on the US proposal to withdraw US forces from the front lines with North Korea, officials said at a press conference.
The US has 37,000 troops in South Korea, nearly 15,000 of them with the 2nd Infantry Division north of Seoul near the border with North Korea.
"Both sides agreed to continue discussions on the timing of the overall alignment, including the 2nd Infantry Decision," the statement added.
The Yongsan Garrison is a 630-acre facility, home to the headquarters of the United Nations Command, US-Republic of Korea Combined Forces Command, US Forces Korea and the US Eighth Army, according to GlobalSecurity.org. Its occupation of prime city land makes it a magnet for discontent over the US presence.
Lawless told the press conference that the proposal for a withdrawal of the 2nd Infantry Divison had not been discussed in detail.
Cha said the two days of talks on how to revise the 50-year-old US-South Korean military alliance had been "free and frank."
"I am satisfied with the results of our discussion yesterday and today," he said.
Regular meetings on the military alignment will take place during the rest of the year with the next talks scheduled for the US in May.
The statement said the authorities are aware of concerns expressed in South Korea about the proposed withdrawal of US troops from the border area with North Korea, technically still at war with the South.
The talks are taking place following massive anti-US protests last year and calls from South Korea President Roh Moo-Hyun for a more balanced bilateral relationship.
However, indications that Washington may reduce its troop presence or withdraw forces from the border have alarmed the South Korean government.
On Tuesday South Korean Defence Minister Cho Young-Kil said he opposed any US proposal to pull back its forces while a nuclear crisis continued on the Korean peninsula.
South Korea considers the deployment of US bases near the border with North Korea as a "tripwire" that would trigger automatic US involvement in any new conflict on the Korean Peninsula.
Copyright © 2003, AFX News Limited
