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The Korean government has decided to officially request that the U.S. government extend the time period in which it would reduce USFK by 12,500 men by at least a year. The government believes that if the reduction were forced through as originally scheduled, it could negatively influence the security situation on the Korean Peninsula.
A high-ranking Korean official said Tuesday, "A Joint Chiefs of Staff investigation into how the withdrawal of U.S. troops and core equipment like the Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) by the end of 2005 might influence our security resulted in an evaluation that the withdrawal would result in a hole in our security, so we've decided to officially request to the U.S. that it extend the time limit for USFK reductions."
A source said, "The Korean government will actively persuade the U.S. not to remove the troops earmarked for reduction until after 2006, a delay of more than a year compared to the original date told the Korean government by the U.S. of late 2005. It will also convince the U.S. not to remove core equipment like its MLRS and AH-64D Apache Longbow attack choppers until that time."
The Korean government plans to adopt USFK reductions as the main agenda in the 11th round of the Future of the Alliance (FOTA), which will be held in Seoul from Thursday to Friday, and aims to see its position reflected in any agreement as much as possible. Attention is focusing on the U.S. response.
Assistant Secretary of Defense for Asia-Pacific Affairs Richard Lawless announced the reduction plan during the 10th round of the FOTA, which was held in Washington on July 23. He said one Apache helicopter battalion, one MLRS battalion from the 2nd Infantry Division's artillery brigade, a battalion of M-109A6 self-propelled Paladin howitzers and a chemical weapons battalion would be withdrawn in stages by 2005.
(Yoo Yong-won, kysu@chosun.com )
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