Foreign Correspondence

[Amaunet]

South Korea seeks military interaction with northern foe

Pullout of U.S. troops, dispatch to Iraq seen causing concern over security on peninsula

2004-06-12 / Associated Press /
South Korea sought cooperation yesterday from its former battlefield foe North Korea on how to implement an accord aimed at easing hostilities along their border, in talks that have gained urgency for the South following U.S. plans to curtail American troops here.

Washington said earlier this week that it wanted to withdraw one-third of the 37,000 American troops in South Korea by the end of next year, and has entered inconclusive discussions with Seoul about pulling the remaining troops away from the border - the world's most heavily fortified.

U.S. troops have stayed here since the 1950-53 Korean War, buttressing South Korea's defense against the communist North. A U.S. troop cut would force Seoul to expand its military budget and - many South Koreans fear - could leave the Korean Peninsula a less stable place should the North Korean army attempt border skirmishes, as it did in 1999 and 2002.

Adding to the equation are Seoul's plans to dispatch about 3,000 South Korean troops to the northern Iraqi city of Irbil by August to help the U.S.-led coalition in peacekeeping and reconstruction. They will be joined in Irbil by about 600 South Korean soldiers already serving in southern Iraq.

The Defense Ministry announced the mission's planned timeline yesterday, but it still needs final approval by the National Security Council, which is set to meet next week.

"We inevitably have to seek inter-Korean military cooperation, given changes taking place in the security situation on the Korean Peninsula," South Korean Unification Minister Jeong Se-hyun said.

At Kaesong, a North Korean town just north of the western border, colonels of the two countries' militaries met yesterday for a second day of discussions to flesh out details of an accord struck last week in the first face-to-face meeting of generals from the North and South since the Korean War.

Last week, the two sides agreed to adopt a standard radio frequency and signaling system for their navies to avoid confusion that could lead to clashes at sea.

They also agreed to end propaganda along their land border. Loudspeaker broadcasts will be stopped, and signboards will be dismantled, beginning next week.

Navy boats from the two sides clashed in 1999 and 2002 and another such confrontation could complicate international negotiations aimed at ending the North's nuclear weapons program.

Both Koreas want to avoid deadly naval clashes during the current crab-catching season, when fishing boats from the two countries operate along their poorly defined western maritime border.

The talks were continuing yesterday, as the sides tried to narrow differences, a Defense Ministry spokeswoman said. No further details were available.

The inter-Korean military talks have coincided with discussions between Seoul and its key ally Washington on realigning U.S. troops stationed in the South to meet American goals of reducing its forces abroad and making them more flexible.

The United States promised to keep its main ground combat unit - the 1st Brigade of the 2nd Infantry Division - in South Korea even after the troop cut, Kim Sook, a senior South Korean Foreign Ministry official, said in an interview with Seoul's PBC Radio Thursday. The division's 2nd Brigade, consisting of 3,600 ground troops, is scheduled to move to Iraq this summer.

The United States, the two Koreas, China, Japan and Russia are expected to meet this month in Beijing to discuss easing tensions over the North's nuclear programs, South Korean officials have said.

North and South Korea often accuse each other of violating their shared border. The South recognizes a maritime border demarcated by the United Nations after the end of the Korean War, but the North claims a boundary further south.

The Korean War ended in a truce, but the two sides have yet to sign a peace treaty.



http://www.etaiwannews.com/Asia/2004/06/12/1087006350.htm