Pentagon spokesman: SOFA
should protect both sides
By
Jim Lea
Stars and Stripes
Pentagon spokesman Ken Bacon said the United States hopes to negotiate a Status of Forces Agreement with South Korea that protects the interests of both sides.
"So far, we haven’t been able to achieve that balance," Bacon said at a Washington press briefing Tuesday.
Talks on the agreement opened Wednesday in Seoul. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Fredrick Smith is representing the United States.
"This has been a long-standing matter between the United States and Korea," Bacon said. "We would like to get it wrapped up, but in a way that protects the interests" of both sides.
"We need an agreement that makes it possible for our soldiers to serve with certain legal protections in Korea.
Bacon said the United States is looking for "basically equal protections for our soldiers, no matter where they serve."
"That’s what we’re trying to work out with the South Koreans. I think they understand that. They obviously have their own issues, legal and political issues, to deal with, but so do we," he said.
The talks in Seoul, the first in four years, were to end Thursday.
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