ACCESSION NUMBER:334499
FILE ID:POL405
DATE:03/24/94
TITLE:DEFENSE DEPARTMENT REPORT, THURSDAY, MARCH 24 (03/24/94)
TEXT:*94032405.POL
DEFENSE DEPARTMENT REPORT, THURSDAY, MARCH 24
NEWS BRIEFING -- Deputy spokesman Dennis Boxx discussed the following
topics:
U.S. HAS NO IMMEDIATE PLANS TO ADD TROOPS IN SOUTH KOREA
While Defense Secretary Perry made a general reference March 23 to the
possibility of sending additional U.S. troops to the Republic of Korea, he
was only "speaking in the broadest context in terms of
contingencies...should the need arise," Boxx said.
"We are a long way from that point...there are many diplomatic steps that
are being taken," the deputy spokesman told reporters, adding that there
are no immediate plans to bolster the number of troops assigned to South
Korea.
Asked about reports of North Korean military maneuvers, Boxx said the United
States has not seen anything "that causes us any concern in the North."
He said the defensive U.S. Patriot anti-missile batteries destined for South
Korea are still being prepared and loaded for shipment from Texas. The
Dallas Morning News reported March 23 that 650-800 U.S. service personnel
trained to operate the Patriots would be deployed from Fort Bliss in El
Paso to South Korea. The deputy spokesman would not discuss details
regarding "operational plans" for the deployment.
Asked about the status of the suspended "Team Spirit" U.S.-South Korea
military exercise, Boxx said "contingency planning" for the maneuvers
continues despite the suspension. Now, he said, the two sides are
discussing when the joint exercise might take place "and what the scope of
it will be."
Army General Gary Luck, the U.S. commander in South Korea, will discuss the
training requirements for the exercise with his counterparts, Boxx said.
South Korean President Kim Yong-sam is currently visiting China and will be
there through March 30, the deputy spokesman said, indicating that there
will probably not be any specific announcement on the timing and scope of
"Team Spirit" until he returns home.
Renewed discussions on the exercise are being held as a result of North
Korea's failure to permit full nuclear inspections by International Atomic
Energy Agency (IAEA) personnel and the lack of progress in establishing a
dialogue between North Korean and South Korean envoys on the
denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.
"Our long-term objective," the deputy spokesman said, is to have a
nuclear-free Korean peninsula.
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