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There are reports that Korea and the United States will reach a conclusion Friday (Saturday, Korea time) on the issue of moving the United Nations Command and the Combined Forces Command, currently both in Yongsan, to Pyeongtaek, in Gyeonggi Province, leading to concerns that there is unexpected haste in an unsure situation.
At the center of the issue is how much of the 80,000 pyeong area in Yongsan the United States Forces Korea (USFK) would continue to use if both commands remain. In October of last year the U.S. asked for 280,000 pyeong, to which our side offered 170,000, and then, ever since U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld visited Seoul in November, the U.S. position is said to be that it wants to move out of Yongsan regardless of how much space is made available. But on Thursday, President Roh Moo-hyun said he thinks "it would be good if it is agreed that keeping [the USFK in] some space in Yongsan. The president is right on this," he said, hinting that the amount of land available remains a key point.
That's where the 50 year-old Korean-American relationship is today, unable to agree on the difference of 110,000 pyeong out of 800,000. Our side has been unable to exercise any flexibility because of the president's position, and this might have looked to the Americans as "Go ahead and leave if that's what you want." Dealing with the issue while having things look this way cannot be said to be a good sign for mutual relations.
The American side is officially saying that moving both commands will not weaken the alliance or hurt the security of the Korean Peninsula. But you get the strong impression that the official comments are only formalities. The bigger problem is that the question of whether or not to move what is currently in Yongsan is being concluded when both governments and peoples are not confident about the alliance, and moving in such a situation will be a big difference for the Korean people, North Korea, and neighboring nations. To begin with, North Korea will try to reassess the substance of the alliance, the moving of both commands will influence the foreign investment that is already shrinking, and this in turn will have a negative effect on Korea's credit rating.
For its part, if the U.S. presses for a move out of emotional reasons, that would be difficult to call a responsible attitude as an ally.
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