|
Rep. Roh Hoe-chan of the Democratic Labor Party disclosed on Friday the details of an agreement reached in August between South Korea and the U.S. on the relocation of the Yongsan Garrison. This is the first time the entire text of the agreement has been revealed, though the gist of the agreement has already been made public.
According to the agreement, the Combined Forces Command and the U.N Command will relocate by the end of 2007 and the Yongsan base will completely relocate by the end of 2008. Korea will bear the full cost of the relocations.
Rep. Roh said that the South Korean negotiating team had given into all of the U.S.'s demands and had ignored input by President Roh Moo-hyun, regarding him as an anti-U.S. activist, and the relocation agreement is worse than a previous agreement drawn up in 1990, which has been heavily criticized as being unfair. To support his claims, Rep. Roh points to the fact that Korea will have to pay the full cost of the relocation, which could be extensive. After the cabinet meeting approves the agreement, the National Assembly will have to ratify it.
The Foreign Affairs and Trade Ministry and the Defense Ministry, chief negotiators of the agreement, are refuting Rep. Roh's claims. The U.S. could be close behind and express its dissatisfaction over Rep. Roh's comments as well. The government held a meeting presided over by the National Security Commission on Friday to come up with countermeasures. Foreign Ministry spokesman Lee Kyu-hyung expressed regret over Rep. Roh's disclosure of the secret agreement, saying that Rep. Roh neglected national interests and international conventions by revealing the agreement, even though he claims to be upholding the public's right to know.
Rep. Roh disclosed last month a presidential aide team report that says the negotiating body that negotiated the Yongsan move employed "U.S.-dependent" principles in negotiating. A government official said that the Democratic Labor Party's position is to see the withdrawal of U.S Forces stationed in Korea and that Rep. Roh is trying to nullify the new agreement. He hopes to do this by pushing the issue ahead of the agreement's passage at the cabinet meeting.
Rep. Roh's comments could cause a diplomatic conflict with the U.S. if Washington chooses to respond. When asked about its position over the comments, the U.S. Embassy in Korea said that it could not comment, but was aware of the situation. The government plans to pass the agreement in the National Assembly this year and to put it into effect early next year. A possible controversy at the National Assembly could delay the agreement's passage and produce negative ripple effects on Korea-U.S. relations.
(Lee Ha-won, may2@chosun.com )
|
