US Garrison in Seoul to be Relocated

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Wednesday, April 09, 2003

US Garrison in Seoul to be Relocated

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Representatives from Republic of Korea (ROK) and United States at a meeting on bilateral military alliance agreed to push for the relocation of a US base in central Seoul as soon as possible, according to South Korean Ministry of National Defense (MND) on Wednesday.

Lt. Gen. Cha Young-koo, assistant defense minister for policy, and Richard Lawless, US deputy assistant secretary of defense for East Asia and the Pacific, concluded the first meeting of the "Future of the ROK-US Alliance Policy Initiative" with a joint statement vowing to continue discussions on the timing of the overall realignment process of the US Forces Korea (USFK), according to a news release of the MND.

Concerning the Yongsan base, a vast tract of land in the heart of the South Korean capital, the two sides agreed to map out a concrete plan within the year to relocate the garrison as quickly as possible, said the release.

While on the readjustment of the USFK, the two parts iterated the realignment will not compromise ROK-US military joint deterrent power.

The US delegation expressed "an understanding of the concerns of the South Korean people regarding the relocation of the USFK," which was in apparent reference to the retreat of the 2nd Infantry Division of the US troops stationed near the border between South Korea and Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

During the two-day talks Cha and Lawless also agreed to adapt the 50-year old bilateral alliance to the new global security environment and assessed the US troops presence in South Korea has contributed a lot to the Korean Peninsula, said the release.

The meeting was agreed upon by South Korea-US 34th Security Consultative Meeting on Dec. 5, 2002, to adapt the alliance to reflect changing regional and global security circumstances.

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