American soldiers pass by a sign hung near the front gate of the headquarters of USFK’s 2nd Infantry Division in Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi Province, Monday. What's Happening Now With Our Iraq Deployment? 4,000 USFK Troops to Iraq U.S. Sending Troops Earmarked for Korea to Iraq So We Have USFK Reductions After All? No Security Vacuum After USFK Transfer: Ban

The Associated Press, quoting a U.S. government official, reported Sunday that, “the shift was not imminent but would be part of the next rotation of American troops in Iraq, which is scheduled to begin this summer.”

The Korean government realizes that the re-deployment might lead to a new adjustment of roles for USFK and also possibilities of a reduction in the USFK. The government has set out for countermeasures.

Kim Sook, head of the South Korean Foreign Ministry's North American Bureau, said Monday that, "The U.S. government has told us that it needs to select some U.S. troops in South Korea and send them to Iraq to cope with the worsening situation in Iraq. The two allies are planning to work out details." Kim, however, did not respond when asked whether this brigade would come back to Korea after its mission in Iraq was completed.

The 2nd Infantry Division, deployed along the tense DMZ with North Korea, will be the central axis of the redeployment to Iraq; there are also possibilities that some from the support units stationed south of the Han River will be included.

President Roh Moo-hyun received reports on the current situation from Foreign Affairs Minister Ban Ki-moon Monday and requested that Ban make sure that there are no gaps in national defense resulting from the U.S. redeployment.

The Korean government will call a ministerial conference related to defense Tuesday at the earliest, and will discuss specific countermeasures.

A high-ranking Korean government official said, “The current situation is an unexpected one and USFK going to Iraq is not related to the dispatch of Korean forces to Iraq,” and added, “There is no change in our military's principle to send troops to Iraq.”

The New York Times reported on its website that, “Any final decision to decrease the number of American troops in South Korea is likely to set off a debate there about whether the United States is undermining an Asian ally -- especially as new revelations emerge about North Korea's program to build nuclear weapons.”

CNN also quoted wire services from Seoul that, “The move to tap its forces there would be a historic one by the Pentagon... A troop move underscores how much the U.S. military is stretched to provide enough forces for Iraq while also meeting its other commitments.”

(Lee Ha-won, may2@chosun.com )