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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, December 03, 2002

Kim Dae-jung Instructs Cabinet to Discuss Ways to Revise SOFA

South Korea President Kim Dae-jung instructed the country's cabinet Tuesday to discuss ways of revising the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) involving the United States Forces Korea (USFK) at a security consultative meeting with the United States later this week in Washington.


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South Korea President Kim Dae-jung instructed the country's cabinet Tuesday to discuss ways of revising the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) involving the United States Forces Korea (USFK) at a security consultative meeting with the United States later this week in Washington.

South Korean Defense Minister Lee Jun and United States Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld will hold the 34th annual Security Consultative Meeting in Washington early Friday.

According to South Korean national news agency Yonhap News, while presiding over a weekly cabinet meeting, Kim also told PrimeMinister Kim Suk-soo to convene a meeting of government officials to come up with measures to prevent recurrences of such accident as two school girls were run over by a US armored vehicle in Yangju, Gyeonggi Province, on June 13.

"However, it is undesirable for this incident to undermine the Korea-US alliance, which is necessary for both countries," stressed Kim.

"Indiscriminate anti-Americanism will not be beneficial to our national interests, although we can criticize US policies in a sound manner," he said, stressing the role of the US Forces Korea as "a stabilizer and deterrent to war throughout Northeast Asia."

A USFK jury announced "not guilty" for the two soldiers who runthe armed vehicle two weeks ago, which arouse large scale and furious protests throughout South Korea.

At the same time, 31 lawmakers from pro-government and opposition parties submitted to the National Assembly a draft resolution Tuesday on a revision of the SOFA, which demands Bush'sopen apology and shifting the jurisdiction over crimes involving US soldiers from the US part to South Korea, reported Yonhap.

US president George. W. Bush delivered his "apologies" to the South Korean people via the US Ambassador Thomas Hubbard on Nov. 27, which did not yet appease the outrage here.


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