South Korea wants US troops to stay near DMZ (good summary)

Straits Times ^ | May 14, 2003

[ellery]

Roh will try and persuade Bush not to relocate American forces until the North Korean nuclear threat is gone

NEW YORK - Visiting South Korean President Roh Moo Hyun says he will be urging US President George W. Bush not to remove American troops stationed near the Korean Peninsula's Demilitarised Zone (DMZ).

He wants the US forces to stay put until such time as the North Korean nuclear threat has been dismantled.

Washington has been reported to be considering plans for the re-positioning of its forces in South Korea.

Its most significant move would be the removal of the Second Infantry Division from the zone to the south of Seoul, which lies only 40km from the North Korean border.

South Korea opposes the relocation, fearing the move may weaken its ability to deter the North.

During a press interview in New York on Monday, Mr Roh said the relocation plans being considered by the Pentagon were likely to be part of a broader discussion about how to contain the North Korean nuclear threat when he meets Mr Bush in Washington today for the first time.

Aides to US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said they believed American troops stationed near the border - to serve as a 'trip wire' against the North at the end of the Korean War in 1953 - served little purpose in an era when the South Koreans were more capable than ever.

US Army officers also see the current break-up of the Second Infantry Division along three mountain invasion routes leading to Seoul as a recipe for military disaster.

If North Korea attacks along one of the routes, it would confront only a third of the division's forces, giving it a tactical advantage.

The remaining two-thirds would have difficulty in providing support.

Moving the division to the south of Seoul 'would give us much greater flexibility in responding to a North Korean attack', said a US military adviser.

Many South Koreans, however, believe the removal of US troops from the front line would enable the US to launch a pre-emptive strike against North Korea without incurring significant casualties if Pyongyang attacks in response.

Moreover, South Korean troops would have to bear the brunt of an initial assault by North Korea if American troops were withdrawn from the DMZ.

Mr Roh's visit to Washington, which began yesterday, occurs at a critical time.

The Bush administration is divided over whether to negotiate or use sanctions at this stage against North Korea.

On Monday, Mr Roh went to some lengths to emphasise that he and the Bush administration agreed in broad terms on how to deal with the North.

In a speech to the US Korea Society, he used language similar to Mr Bush's recent statements.

'North Korea has two alternatives,' he said.

'It can go down a blind alley, or it can open up.'

But during the press interview, he put the ball firmly in America's court, saying: 'The stronger party can afford to show some flexibility with the weaker party.'

He emphasised that he was not naive about North Korea's record of ignoring agreements.

'I don't trust North Korea that much,' he said, before adding quickly: 'There are many ways to make North Korea stick to its agreements.'

Although pressed, he did not describe what he had in mind.

On Monday, the North said it had 'nullified' the 1992 agreement between the two Koreas which commits both to keeping the Korean Peninsula free of nuclear weapons.

China had frequently cited that accord to North Korean negotiators in recent weeks.

Yesterday, a US official said North Korea's military may have fired a laser of an unknown type at a US helicopter on a training mission along the DMZ in March. No one was hurt. -- New York Times,Financial Times, AP

[SengirV]

I remeber huge protest last year in South Korea, where they were calling for the US to pull out of the Penisula. I say we do as they originally asked, and remove all US troops from harms way.

[trebb]

Old story (same as when I was in S. Korea in 85-86), they don't really want us there, but they want our protection. And if we are kind enough to leave, please don't take all the neat tanks and planes, etc...

[joesnuffy]

Our kids = their buffer
glad to sell you some ROK rifles
Never been fired
& only dropped once
Bring our guys home or pull them back to Seoul...at least give them a chance if the North makes a move.....

[joesnuffy]

Our kids = their buffer
glad to sell you some ROK rifles
Never been fired
& only dropped once
Bring our guys home or pull them back to Seoul...at least give them a chance if the North makes a move.....

[DugwayDuke]

There have also been rallies in support of our troops.

[Diddle E. Squat]

Ruh Roh Shaggy!

[oldironsides]

Put South Korean kids in harms way. Bring the Americans home. ASAP. I do not give a damn if the South Korean
kids are in college. Bring Americans home now.

[Joee]

The defensive positions that the US troops occupy are very strong, although I don't think anyone can fully appreciate being hit by an atomic blast. As long as American troops man a portion of the DMZ, I doubt that the NK's will attack. But withdraw them and it will certainly increase the risk of an attack. I would hate to see us "bite off our own nose," so to speak.

[SamiGirl]

Pull our troops out NOW!

[AmericanVictory]

I guess if our guys were out the South Koreans would have to face reality and deal with the situation and could no longer afford to indulge themselves in fashionable hate Americanism, not to mention engaging in market undercutting because they don't have to spend money on defense. Gee, that would be terrible.

[SengirV]

There have also been rallies in support of our troops.

I don't recall to many pro-US rallies a year ago. If there were some, they were outnumbered 10-1 by the the anti-US rallies.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/2499957.stm

They want us there so they can play games over the internet and not have to worry about the rest of the world. Why put their own people in harms way when they can find a patsy to do it for them.

[bart99]

"I remeber huge protest last year in South Korea, where they were calling for the US to pull out of the Penisula. I say we do as they originally asked, and remove all US troops from harms way."

---

I seem to recall the same thing. It's time for the US to leave, and let the *hehe* UN go in........ We'll do our 'work' from the seas, as we will need to.

Hmmmm "Roh will try and persuade Bush not to relocate American forces until the North Korean nuclear threat is gone "

Now let's get real...... anyone really think the threat will be gone? Oh manybe from aiming at South Korea, but the threats are going to be everywhere - from proliferation to terrorist gorups for big bucks, to targeting our other allies in the region, and even to the USA.

Time for China, not the USA, to reign in the idoit up there, else we will take action. Guaranteed.

[Joee]

What I'm saying is "regardless" of how the game is played in Korea, we will not allow the North to over run the South. It just isn't in our interest tactically or polically and it just ain't gonna happen. The best we can do to assure it doesn't is continue our present posture and policies.

[OldFriend]

This jackass thinks that the strong should appear weak?

[Amelia]

Moreover, South Korean troops would have to bear the brunt of an initial assault by North Korea if American troops were withdrawn from the DMZ.

AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW.

It IS their country, you know...why should WE "bear the brunt of an initial assault"?

[bart99]

"The defensive positions that the US troops occupy are very strong, although I don't think anyone can fully appreciate being hit by an atomic blast. As long as American troops man a portion of the DMZ, I doubt that the NK's will attack. But withdraw them and it will certainly increase the risk of an attack."

---

Why would you think that if we are there or not that the "atomic" threat increases or decreases? The only threat that increases is that the north can walk down to the south a bit more easily - but the South has 700,000 troops. We can leave them wome weapon systems.... but we don't have to be there to minimize the nuclear threat. After all, we are there now and the threat is real. And soon it will be real enough to hit the USA.

[Guillermo]

South Korea has twice the population and an economy 50 times bigger than North Korea...why the hell are we defending those ungrateful pigs, when they can do it themselves.

[river rat]

"Moreover, South Korean troops would have to bear the brunt of an initial assault by North Korea if American troops were withdrawn from the DMZ."

So What!

Where the hell is it written that Americans should die to defend EVERYONE?

Pull our guys out....If war comes, so be it....
Actions and behavior have CONSEQUENCES.....
North Korea has been a boil on the world's ass for 50 years -- time to lance it.

Semper Fi

[bart99]

" we will not allow the North to over run the South. It just isn't in our interest tactically or polically"

---

Could you explain why it's not in our interest one way or the other? Our interest is in the North having nukes and being able to use them. They smuggle missles now, they smuggle drugs now, they test long range missles, and when they get to about 5 nukes, they can sell a few for a billion bucks to someone. The north just needs a big-time change, but I don't understand why our current position, tactically or politically, is in our interest. After all, the North has renegged on every treaty and agreement they've entered into with us. WHY should we allow the status quo to continue?