The withdrawal of 12,500 U.S. troops from Korea, originally scheduled for completion by 2005, has been stretched over a three-year, three-stage period ending in 2008. Plans to withdraw one battalion of multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS), which are a key component of the allied response to North Korean artillery, have been cancelled. In addition, plans to remove one of USFK's three AH-64 Apache attach helicopter battalions (one battalion has 24 choppers) was cancelled; most of the helicopters will remain in Korea.
Korea and the U.S. held simultaneous press conferences Wednesday in Seoul and Washington and announced the gist of the results of negotiations on USFK reductions. Thus, a complete compromise was reached in the four months since the U.S. informed Korea in June that it would withdraw 12,500 men form Korea by the end of 2005. Accordingly, after 2009, the U.S. will maintain 25,000 troops in Korea.
Defense Ministry policy chief Ahn Kwang-chan, the head of Korea's negotiating team, said at his press conference that Korea had received from the U.S. side an official final plan on the size and timing of U.S. troop reductions on Tuesday, and the Korean side had decided to accept it. He added there would be no additional negotiations.
The schedule of the reductions calls for 5,000 troops, including the 3,600 men of the U.S. 2nd Infantry Division who were transferred to Iraq earlier this year, to be withdrawn by the end of this year as the first stage. Stage two would see 3,000 troops withdrawn in 2005 and 2,000 withdrawn in 2006. The reduction would focus on some combat units. The third and final stage would see 2,500 men, primarily in support units, withdrawn.
In addition, much of the combat equipment of the units to be withdrawn will remain on the Korean Peninsula so that U.S. reinforcement could use it in times of emergency.
(Jang Il-hyeon, ihjang@chosun.com )
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