DATE=3/17/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=CHINA KOREA (L-ONLY)
NUMBER=2-260307
BYLINE=JIM RANDLE
DATELINE=SEOUL, KOREA
CONTENT=
INTERNET=YES
INTRO: The commander of U-S Forces in Korea says
U-S intelligence is watching North Korea with
special care in case Pyongyang tries to launch
any surprise military action while Washington is
preoccupied by the tensions between neighboring
China and Taiwan. General Thomas Schwartz also
says North Korean forces are getting steadily
better, in spite of severe economic problems. V-
O-A's Jim Randle reports from Seoul, where top U-
S and South Korean officials are discussing
defense issues.
Text: General Schwartz told reporters North
Korean military activity seemed "about normal"
over the past few weeks. But the U-S Army
General says North Korean forces are getting
better, day to day, year to year, doing more
training and moving units closer to the border
with South Korea.
Other Pentagon officials say the renewed training
is mostly by North Korea's massive artillery
units, and comes after a period when economic
problems appeared to limit military activity.
North and South Korea have been in a state of
armed truce for decades following several years
of bitter war in the early 1950's (1950-1953).
Northern forces are more numerous, with more than
a million soldiers and thousands of pieces of
artillery. South Korean forces are smaller, but
equipped with more advanced weapons, sensors and
communications gear. South Korea fields about
600-thousand troops, backed by 38-thousand
Americans.
The one point eight billion dollar annual cost of
keeping those U-S soldiers, sailors, airmen and
marines on watch in Korea is one of the issues on
the agenda Saturday as U-S Defense Secretary
William Cohen holds talks with Korea's Minister
of National Defense, President and other leaders.
The Government in Seoul now pays about 38 per
cent of the bill, but some members of the U-S
Congress would like Korea to pay more. But South
Korea is just emerging from an economic crisis,
and is reluctant to pay more for the military.
The two sides will also talk about allegations
that U-S troops killed hundreds of Korean
civilians in the early, chaotic days of the
Korean war at a village called No Gun Ri. News
accounts of the incident say the Americans feared
North Korean troops were hiding among the
refugees.
South Korea is the final stop on an Asian journey
that has taken Defense Secretary William Cohen to
Hong Kong, Japan and Vietnam. (Signed)
NEB/PT
17-Mar-2000 19:44 PM EDT (18-Mar-2000 0044 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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