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U.S. talks Korea strategy shift

Monday, November 17, 2003 Posted: 2:09 AM EST (0709 GMT)
Monday, November 17, 2003 Posted: 2:09 AM EST (0709 GMT)

Protesters hurl eggs at a picture of Rumsfeld during a protest in Seoul.

SEOUL, South Korea -- The United States is to move its forces back from the highly-fortified Demiltarized Zone dividing South and North Korea, U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has said.

Although no timetable had been set, the process would begin "as soon as possible," Rumsfeld said after holding high-level joint security talks on realignment of U.S. forces on the Korean peninsula.

The relocation would form part of a sweeping reorganization of U.S. troops across Asia.

"Any changes to U.S. military posture in Northeast Asia will be the product of consultation with our key allies. Most importantly, they will result in an increased U.S. capability in the region," Rumsfeld told a press conference Monday in Seoul.

"(The troop movements) will reflect our new technologies and abilities to deter and defeat any aggressions against allies such as South Korea," he said.

The security talks, described by Rumsfeld as "possibly the most substantive" between the two countries, focused on issues relating to North Korea and Iraq.

"They shared a grave concern that North Korea's self-acknowledged nuclear weapons program threatens regional and global security and violates North Korea's commitments to a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula," Rumsfeld and South Korean Defense Minister Cho Young-kil said in a joint statement.

Rumsfeld also expressed appreciation for South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun's decision to send additional troops to Iraq, as well as US$260 million in reconstruction funds by 2007.

Outside the defense ministry a group of about 30 protesters chanted slogans against Rumsfeld's visit .

The demonstrators claimed Rumsfeld was trying to pressure Seoul into sending more troops to Iraq. They also demanded the withdrawal of the 37,000 U.S. troops in stationed in South Korea since the end of the Korean War.

Iraq commitments

Rumsfeld arrived in the South Korean capital Sunday amid protests over plans to send more South Korean troops to Iraq.

Nearly 700 South Korean soldiers, mostly medics and engineers are already in Iraq, and Washington was seeking several thousand more, including combat troops.

Professor Koh Byung-chul, of the Institute of Far Eastern Studies told CNN Monday the U.S. had asked for 5,000 troops, including combat forces, but South Korea wanted to limit the numbers to 3,000 in mainly non-combat roles.

He said polls showed opinion in South Korea to be evenly divided on the troops issue, adding that it would be politically difficult for South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun to agree to the U.S. request.

Rumsfeld (right) is greeted upon arrival in Seoul by U.S. Ambassador Thomas C. Hubbard.

Riot police were deployed on the streets of the capital Sunday night when Rumsfeld arrived by helicopter at Yongsan Garrison, the 8th U.S. Army's 320-hectare (800-acre) headquarters in the center of the city, the Associated Press reports.

While some South Koreans oppose sending any troops to Iraq, others believe the nation must be realistic and shoulder some international responsibility.

The issue is complicated by the presence of 37,000 U.S. troops stationed in South Korea to defend against possible aggression by North Korea.

Also South Korea and the United States are currently involved in a global effort to stop North Korea's nuclear weapons ambitions. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the U.S.-South Korean security treaty following the end of the Korean War.

On Tuesday, Rumsfeld was scheduled to visit U.S. troops, including soldiers of the 2nd Infantry Division, the main Army unit based in South Korea.

Asian strategy shift

South Korea is the third leg of Rumsfeld's six-day Asian trip. He has already visited Guam and Japan.

While in Tokyo, Rumsfeld downplayed Japan's decision to delay sending non-combat troops to Iraq which was prompted by the bomb attack on Italian troops that left 26, including 18 Italians, dead.

Japan has said it would like to send troops "as soon as possible" and dispatched a 10-member fact-finding team to Iraq Saturday to further assess the security situation.

During talks Friday and Saturday, Rumsfeld presented Japanese leaders with plans for altering the U.S. military "footprint" as part of a sweeping realignment of U.S. forces around the world.

"But we don't have any specifics because it will take a great deal of discussion," he said at a press conference on Saturday.

The long-term U.S. presence on Okinawa has sparked strong opposition from a section of the Japanese public.

-- Seoul CNN Bureau Chief Sohn Jie-ae contributed to this report