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Prime Minister Goh Kun and Defense Minister Cho Yung-kil will visit the U.S. 2nd Infantry Division on Friday, just days before President Roh Moo-hyun leaves for his visit to the United States. Goh will express the government's concern about the controversial plan to relocate the division, now centered in the Gyeonggi province city of Uijeongbu, south of the Han River. Goh is expected to request that discussions about the plan be postponed until the North Korean nuclear crisis is resolved.
The prime minister's senior press officer, Kim Duk-bong, said Monday that Goh would meet high U.S. military officials and convey Seoul's stance that the relocation of the division should not yet be discussed. Goh will also affirm that the Korean government officially supports the continued stationing of the division in its current location, Kim said.
The trip will mark the first time in Korean history that a prime minister has visited a U.S. army camp. Goh's visit is designed to alleviate the uncomfortable sentiment that has prevailed since the incident last June when two middle school girls were killed by a U.S. army vehicle from the Gyeonggi province base, insiders said.
Goh will hear out the U.S. forces to get a reading on the difficulties they face, Kim said, and promise to provide support for a stable stationing of the U.S. Army in Korea by moving training camps and expanding roads.
(Ko Seok-tae, rookie@chosun.com )
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