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ROK, US Agree on Fast-Track Force Realignment

ROK Ministry of National Defense

2003-07-03 10:08:24

The Republic of Korea and the United States agreed Friday to start relocating the U.S. military's main Yongsan Garrison out of Seoul as soon as possible and to consolidate frontline U.S. troops of the 2nd Infantry Division.

The two sides also agreed to operate rotational units of U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) troops at training ranges near the border on a six-month basis to make up for the loss of deterrence in the zone after the 2nd Infantry Division moves southward.

ROK Defense Minister Cho Yung-kil and U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld made the agreement concluding their talks in Washington D.C. Friday, the first of its kind since the induction of the Roh Moo-hyun administration.

In a joint statement, the two sides agreed on "the need to move the U.S. garrison at Yongsan out of Seoul at the earliest possible date" and to consolidate U.S. troops south of the Han River in a "two phase process."

The first phase would involve an initial consolidation of U.S. forces on a smaller number of bases prior to being stationed in the area around Osan Airbase and Camp Humphreys. The second phase will be pursued through close consultations between the two allies, according to the statement.

Lt. Gen. Cha Young-koo of the Defense Ministry said the United States will concentrate core units of the U.S. 2nd Infantry Division in the first stage before moving them south in the second stage.

"However, the U.S. plans to move smaller units of the division stationed near the frontline without going through the two stages, under the bilateral land partnership plan (LPP)," Cha added.

The two sides also agreed on an earlier implementation of the LPP that calls for the integration of U.S. units across the country, by a few years from the original 2011.

Exact timing of the two stages was not fixed at the talks, however.

During the talks, Cho and Rumsfeld also agreed to move ahead with transfer of selected military missions from the United States to the ROK in conjunction with the development of enhanced combined ROK-U.S. capabilities.

The military leaders agreed that the bilateral alliance should continue to contribute to the stability of the region. The Republic of Korea and the United States marked the 50th anniversary of the alliance this year.

They called on North Korea to dismantle its nuclear weapons program "in a prompt, irreversible, and verifiable fashion," expressing concerns about the North's reprocessing of nuclear material, possession of nuclear weapons and its threat to demonstrate or transfer those weapons.

The two stressed the need to resolve the North Korean nuclear issue peacefully through multilateral diplomacy and agreed that "to eliminate the North Korean nuclear threat diplomatically requires allied solidarity backed by strong deterrence."

The ROK has reacted sensitively to the U.S. plan to realign and relocate the 37,000-strong USFK, judging it would weaken deterrence, particularly amidst the nuclear dispute with North Korea.

"The U.S. side was of the position that the issue could not drag on," said Lt. Gen. Cha, conceding the differences over the pace of the realignment between the two sides.

Addressing Seoul's concerns on reduced deterrence, Washington has also agreed to dispatch Stryker units to the ROK from the United States semiannually.

The two sides will continue talks looking over all aspects of the alliance through "Future of the ROK-U.S. Alliance Initiative," consultations which will last until fall.