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WASHINGTON -- U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld said Tuesday that the removal of 12,500 U.S. soldiers from South Korea would never lead to a security vacuum on the Korean Peninsula. He said that because it was aware of the nature of the North Korean regime, the U.S. wasn't prepared to permit a security vacuum of any kind.
Asked if the reduction of 12,500 troops from Korea would bring about a security vacuum, Rumsfeld responded at a press conference at the Pentagon that it wouldn¡¯t, and added that since the Korean Peninsula is an extremely important region, the U.S. had scrupulously analyzed the issue along with the Korean government for the last year.
Moreover, he said that those who regarded troop numbers of 21st century militaries as the same as those of 20th century militaries were mistaken, and stressed that in accordance with technological development, battle capabilities have greatly increased even if the number have remained the same.
State Department spokesperson Richard Boucher, asked about U.S. President George W. Bush's omission of Korea as an ally in the Iraq War during his presidential nomination speech, said U.S. gratitude for Korea's deployment of troops to Iraq should never be in doubt.
He said that while the names of the countries Bush has mentioned have changed from speech to speech, the U.S. has made it clear how highly it regarded Korea's Iraq deployment, how close its relationship with Korea has been as an ally, and how well the two have been cooperating. He stressed that this has been the firm basis of U.S. policy, and the president has repeated this time and time again.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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