Foreign Correspondence

[Amaunet]

U.S., South Korea Agree to Delay Troop Cut -Report
Tue Oct 5, 2004 09:15 PM ET

SEOUL (Reuters) - The United States and South Korea plan to announce on Wednesday a three-year delay in plans to cut the number of U.S. troops stationed on the Cold War frontline to protect the U.S. ally against reclusive communist North Korea.

That delay would be until 2008, state television said.

South Korea's defense ministry is to hold a news briefing at 3.00 p.m. (2 a.m. EDT) on the result of talks between the United States and South Korea on the plans to cut troops, but declined to say if such an agreement on a delay had been reached.

The United States plans to pull out one third of its soldiers, or 12,500 troops, from South Korea as part of a global realignment of its forces.

"We will announce the results of the troop talks today, but I cannot confirm those reports over the timetable," said a defense ministry spokesman.

Washington and Seoul had agreed to delay the pullout, which the United States has wanted to wrap up by the end of 2005, KBS television said in an unsourced report.

It gave no reason for the delay but analysts have said the United States may have decided to accept a request from South Korea to delay the pullout to give Seoul more time to prepare its defenses against the North, which has thousands of missiles pointed at Seoul.

The two countries have said the reduction in U.S. troops in South Korea would not reduce their combined deterrence against the communist North, but Seoul has asked Washington to delay the move.

In a recent speech, South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun said a reduction in U.S. troops based in South Korea was both a challenge and an opportunity to enhance their alliance.

North Korea has the world's fifth-largest military with about 1.17 million troops on active duty, while the South has the world's sixth-largest with 691,000 active-duty soldiers, facing off along the most heavily fortified frontier on earth.

The two Koreas remain technically at war after the 1950-53 Korean conflict ended in a truce rather than a full peace treaty.

The threat from North Korea has been intensified by its statements that it is developing a nuclear arsenal and six-way talks involving the two Koreas, the United States, China, Japan, and Russia over its ambitions have now stalled.

The parties to talks aimed at ending a two-year impasse over its nuclear programs failed to hold a planned fourth round of negotiations in September.

The North is being urged to scrap all its nuclear programs in exchange for security guarantees and energy aid.

© Reuters 2004. All Rights Reserved.


http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=6422768