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During the 11th round of Future of Alliance talks held in Seoul on Friday, the U.S. appeared to respond positively to some Korean requests to delay the timing of reductions of core USFK units. The U.S. had originally planned to withdraw 12,500 men by the end of next year.
A Defense Ministry official said the Koreans asked the U.S. side to delay the withdrawal of certain key units, like multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS) and Apache attack helicopters until the end of 2006, at least one year later than the initial U.S. request. He said he understood that the U.S. side said it would consider delaying the withdrawal of MLRS units. As the two sides could not come to an agreement on the USFK reduction issue during this round of talks, they decided to hold working group talks and decide their final positions during the Security Consultative Meeting (SCM) to be held in October.
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U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense for Asia-Pacific Affairs Richard Lawless and Ahn Kwang-chan, deputy defence minister for policy of Korea, gather leaders of the Future of the Alliance (FOTA) to assist in the photography session prior to the meeting.
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About its plans to re-organize USFK, the U.S. explained it would turn the U.S. 2nd Infantry Division into a division-level Unit of Employment X (UEx) to which would be attached two brigade-strength Units of Action (UA). In an emergency, it would be able to take four more UAs from U.S. forces in Japan and elsewhere as reinforcement, growing to roughly the strength of an army corps. The U.S. would also keep the 8th U.S. Army headquarters as is until such time as the North Korean military threat is greatly reduced.
The two countries also signed the Umbrella Agreement (UA) that will serve as the legal system for the transfer of the Yongsan Garrison in Seoul. They also signed an amendment to the Land Partnership Plan that moves up the timing of the transfer of major U.S. military installations across the country -- including those blocking downtown development and causing inconveniences to residents in Busan and Chuncheon -- by one to six years. The UA, and its Implementing Agreement (IA), would legally go into effect after it is deliberated upon in the cabinet, signed by the president and ratified by the National Assembly.
(Yu Yong-won, kysu@chosun.com )
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