Foreign Minister Says US Troops Must Remain

Foreign Minister Lee Joung-binn Sept. 16 (Korean Standard Time) said that U.S. troops must remain on the Korean Peninsula to ensure the peace of the Koreas and the whole Northeast Asian region.

"In the process leading up to unification on the Korean Peninsula, the U.S. military presence must be maintained to deter developments that may damage the build-up of peace. After unification, it must continue as a guarantor of the stability and balance of power in Northeast Asia," the minister of foreign affairs and trade said, speaking before the Asia Society at the Nikko Hotel in San Franscisco.

Minister Lee argued that the withdrawal of U.S. troops would leave a vacuum, inviting instability in a region where some of the world's largest powers jostle for influence.

He emphasized that the international community should work toward bringing the formerly isolationist North Korea into the community, saying, "The more North Korea is engaged with others, the less likely it is to shut the doors that it has begun to open."

On revision of the Korea-U.S. Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) that governs the legal status of the 37,000 American forces stationed in the South, he said that "these issues must be resolved in a manner that strengthens the mutual understanding and friendship between Korea and United States."

by Lee Chul-hee