Rumsfeld promises stronger Korea tie

In an attempt to ease concerns that the U.S. military’s planned realignment may disturb security on the Korean Peninsula, U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld told top South Korean businessmen yesterday the United States would strengthen its capabilities in South Korea.
“Over the next four years, the United States has plans to make substantial investment in the alliance,” Mr. Rumsfeld said. He urged South Korea to make “parallel investments.” He did not provide specifics.
The U.S. 8th Army has said the Pentagon plans to invest $11 billion over the next several years in about 150 programs to enhance its defensive capabilities on the peninsula.
“Change is always hard,” Mr. Rumsfeld said, addressing the businessmen who traveled to Washington to attend a U.S.-Korean Business Council luncheon.
“It’s hard when you try to change a business. It’s hard when you try to change a government bureaucracy. It’s hard when you try to make adjustments in a relationship like this, so I think it’s worth some time to discuss it and make sure everyone is on the same wave length.”
Mr. Rumsfeld said Washington had vowed to work together with Seoul to reinforce their half-century military alliance by transferring selective defense missions to South Korean forces, relocating the U.S. Yongsan Garrison to areas outside Seoul, and consolidating U.S. bases on the peninsula.
Despite the physical changes, “there certainly would be no change at all in our commitment to the defense of South Korea,” Mr. Rumsfeld stressed.
The two countries have been consulting each other about a U.S. plan to eventually withdraw its forces from areas near the Demilitarized Zone.
Of the 37,000 U.S. troops currently stationed on the peninsula, 15,000 are deployed in areas north of Seoul along a likely North Korean invasion route.
Mr. Rumsfeld said he appreciated Korean forces’ help in Afghanistan and Iraq.

by Ser Myo-ja