Tracking Number: 387421
Title: "US, South Korean Forces to Hold Joint Exercises."
Background briefing at the Pentagon regarding joint US-South Korean military exercises to be held in the Republic of Korea from late April to early May. (950414)
Date: 19950414
Text:
*EPF503
04/14/95 U.S., SOUTH KOREAN FORCES TO HOLD JOINT EXERCISES
(Transcript: Sr. Defense Official briefing 4/14) (1390)
Washington, April 14 -- U.S. and South Korean forces will be conducting joint exercises in the Republic of Korea starting later this month and extending into mid-May, according to a senior defense official.
At a background briefing today at the Pentagon, the defense official said the exercises will involve about 13,000 troops, 10 percent of which will be brought in from other commands.
The purpose of the exercise, the defense official said, is to train and evaluate the ROK/U.S. Combined Forces Command's ability to receive augmentation of U.S.-based forces.
"There will be no large-scale deployment of forces per se," the official said, and denied any connection between the timing of this second annual exercise and the current impasse in talks with North Korea on its nuclear program.
The official characterized the upcoming exercise as "closer to a paperwork exercise than it is to a major force deployment."
Following is a transcript:
(begin transcript)
DEFENSE DEPARTMENT BACKGROUND BRIEFING
SUBJECT: U.S. AND REPUBLIC OF KOREA JOINT STAGING EXERCISE
ATTRIBUTABLE TO A SENIOR DEFENSE OFFICIAL
FRIDAY, APRIL 14, 1995
SR. DEFENSE OFFICIAL: I thought that what I would do to start out is to share with you the press release that was made several hours ago in the Republic of Korea, and I quote:
"The Republic of Korea and the United States Combined Forces Command announce today that the Second RSOI -- and that stands for Reception, Staging, Onward Movement and Interoperability -- exercise "will be conducted from late April until mid-May 1985. The exercise is going to involve ROK and U.S. forces stationed in Korea and a small number of U.S. forces deploying to and exercising in the theater.
"The purpose of the exercise is to allow the commander-in-chief of the Combined Forces Command of U.S. Forces Korea and U.S. Forces Korea Component Commanders to train and evaluate the command's capability to receive augmentation of U.S.-based forces. Operations are going to include reception, staging, onward movement, and integration of the out-of-country forces into U.S. Forces Korea and Combined Forces Command. The first exercise was conducted in April of 1994 with this name." Unquote.
I am prepared to answer whatever questions you might have. Q. How many troops are going to be involved in this on both sides? SR. DEFENSE OFFICIAL: The number of troops is approximately 13,000 on both sides, both ROK and U.S.
Q. How many of those are coming in from outside? SR. DEFENSE OFFICIAL: About 10 percent of those forces are being deployed from other places.
Q. So about 1,300? SR. DEFENSE OFFICIAL: About 10 percent. Q. In the past, the North Koreans have objected to some U.S. military exercises as being somewhat provocative. Are you expecting that there'll be any such reaction to this exercise?
SR. DEFENSE OFFICIAL: Yes, we are anticipating that there will be a negative reaction. There is a reaction no matter what exercise we've done or how long we've done it. So yes, we anticipate some negative reaction.
Q. Typically the North Koreans characterize these kinds of exercises as, quote, "invasion preparations." Is there anything that you can do to reassure the North Koreans that this is a peaceful exercise and not aimed at any sort of aggressive act?
SR. DEFENSE OFFICIAL: Well, as you know, our national military strategy calls for two near-simultaneous major regional contingencies, one of which is this area. So when we train and when we exercise, we in fact train and exercise the way we would actually do it. So we are enhancing the readiness of U.S. forces in the Republic of Korea and the Combined Forces Command under the command of General Luck.
Q. Could you sort of paint a picture of what the troops will actually do? If it's -- most of the numbers are in South Korea, are they unpacking equipment? When you talk about integration, what does that actually mean?
SR. DEFENSE OFFICIAL: It truly is a command post exercise where the leadership and the key players will rehearse the actions that they have to take to receive forces, to stage those forces, to move them forward from staging bases into their forward assembly areas, and then to integrate them in Combined Forces Command Forces. So that's kind of what you'll see. You'll see the leadership and the key players go through that process.
Q. Will the troops be in the field? SR. DEFENSE OFFICIAL: There will be no large-scale deployment of forces per se. They will be primarily the leadership and the key people who will operate in the normal places that they would operate at. So there'll be no large movement of forces.
Q. What's the scenario that these troops are responding to? I mean, is this a defensive drill, assuming that there would be some case of rising tensions on the peninsula or something? What's (rehearsing ?)?
SR. DEFENSE OFFICIAL:
Again, not to beat a dead horse to death, but it is simply to practice the procedures that you need to reinforce -- with off-peninsula forces -- to reinforce both United States Forces Korea and Combined Forces Command forces for whatever eventuality -- either to assist in deterrence or, should deterrence fail, to help fight and win.
Q. Does the timing of this have anything to do with the fact that the nuclear talks are stalled, at least for now, and there's talk, at least, of maybe going to sanctions against North Korea again?
SR. DEFENSE OFFICIAL: No, and I would tell you that, because this is the second annual exercise. The last one was a year ago in April. Upon conclusion of that one, we immediately went into the planning and preparation, and the initial planning conference for this exercise was last October -- before we knew this -- bilateral talks and so forth -- where this would be taking us. So I -- from my perspective, it's coincidental. I'm convinced that it's coincidental.
Q. How many troops were involved in last year's? SR. DEFENSE OFFICIAL: I don't recall. I'm sorry; I don't recall. Q. More this year, or less -- (off mike) -- trying to get an idea -- (off mike) --
SR. DEFENSE OFFICIAL: As I recall, it was about the same. It may have been a few less, but I'm not sure. Let me go get that answer for you. I'll have to give you that one. I'm not positive.
Q. When the United States reviewed the plans for the defense of the Korean peninsula, wasn't one of the concerns the rapid deployment of troops, if you needed to, and how that would do, and is this exercise designed to address that concern about whether or not enough troops and equipment could be deployed to South Korea in time of crisis?
SR. DEFENSE OFFICIAL: Absolutely. As part and parcel of any exercise program, there are certain aspects that have to be covered -- for example, what forces need to be mobilized, how do they (need ?) deployed, how will the commander fight, how will those forces be resupplied or provided logistics, and how we'll redeploy those forces. So this is very typical of kinds of exercises that we have everywhere to insure that we've got the capacity to do what it is that we need to do to fulfill our requirements.
Q. When you say that this is a command post exercise, does that mean a lot of this is sort of done on paper in rooms and there's not a lot of troop movements in the field?
SR. DEFENSE OFFICIAL: The answer is there's two ways you can do this. Number one is you can do a lot of paperwork drills and another way is you can put massive forces in the field and actually have them go through the process.
I would tell you that this is somewhere in between, towards the lower end. It's closer to a paperwork exercise than it is to a major force deployment, but there are some forces in the field, as I say, that -- they will actually go to the places they would go and they will practice the procedures. There will not be a massive flow of forces through those areas, though.
(end transcript)
NNNN
File Identification: 04/14/95, EPF503
Product Name: Wireless File
Product Code: WF
Keywords: KOREA (SOUTH)-US RELATIONS; MILITARY EXERCISES; KOREA (SOUTH)/Defense
& Military
Document Type: TRA
Thematic Codes: 1EA
Target Areas: EA
PDQ Text Link: 387421
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