Silence of U.S. to Korean Proposal of Troop Dispatch

It was known that the U.S. has not clearly expressed its opinion as to whether it is accepting the troop dispatch proposal of the Korean forces with its “reconstruction support troops within the scope of 3,000 troops” that our government has suggested in Security Consultative Meeting (SCM) on November 17, an annual security meeting between Korea and the U.S. The discussion on the relocation of the Yongsan Garrison has also not reached an agreement, which makes it seem as if both parties have failed in coordinating the differences in their opinions regarding those two issues.

In a joint statement after the meeting at the Grand Meeting Room at the Ministry of Defense, U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said, “I thank President Roh Moo-hyun for his decision to provide reconstruction costs of $260 million by 2007 and for dispatching additional troops to Iraq. In order to ensure the smooth and timely dispatch, we will closely cooperate with Korea in sharing information and munitions plans.” In addition, Secretary Rumsfeld said in a joint press interview with the Korean Minister of Defense Cho Young-gil in response to a question raised as to whether they are accepting the 3,000-troop plan, “The issue of dispatch depends on the country’s determination as an independent country, and I think there cannot be much difference in our opinions in dealing with a critical issue,” and thus avoided a clear response.

Related to this, an official at the National Security Council (NSC) analyzed, “The appreciation of the U.S. to our dispatch expresses their will to accept our proposal in principle. Both countries will now lead working-level discussions on the composition of the troops and stationing regions.” However, another official at the government has said, “Secretary Rumsfeld was merely thankful for the decision of the dispatch but was not specifically referring to the scope and character of it,” hinting at the possible differences in both parties’ opinions.

Both countries in the meeting have discussed relocating the Yongsan Garrison of the U.S. army to Osan and Pyeongtaek in Gyeonggi by 2006 but failed to narrow their different views on whether the military, residence, and welfare facilities of the remaining forces should stay in Seoul or move to Osan or Pyeongtaek.

Both parties reconfirmed the principle that they are relocating the U.S. forces to two different regions south of the river Hangang in two stages and said, “The first stage of the relocation will be exerted as earliest as possible, and the timing for the second stage will be decided by the highest authorities of both countries.” Both sides have also reconfirmed the previous agreement of transferring 10 specific military missions under the U.S. forces to the ROK forces.

In addition, both countries have said in the statement that they “reconfirmed the continuing importance of strategic flexibility of the U.S. forces,” which has opened the possibility of including the U.S. troops in Korea as part of rapid response troops in their anti-terrorism attacks while relocating the U.S. forces in the future.

Following the meeting, President Roh met with Secretary Rumsfeld and his party at the Blue House in the afternoon and discussed the issues related to additional troop dispatch to Iraq, the Korea-U.S. alliance, and North Korean nuclear programs.

Jeong-Hun Kim Sang-Ho Yun jnghn@donga.com ysh1005@donga.com