3,600 US troops in S.Korea to be transferred to Iraq

A day earlier, South Korea said it had agreed to a US plan to transfer a 4,000-strong brigade of its 37,000 troops in South Korea to help cope with the worsening security situation in Iraq.

"Current plans include the rotation of approximately 3,600 US troops from the Republic of Korea to Iraq later this summer. These troops are expected to come from the Second Brigade of the Second Division," said Lt. Col. Steve Boylan, spokesman at the US military command in Seoul.

The 14,000-member 2nd Infantry Division is the only US combat division deployed to the inter-Korean border, which is only 50 kilometers away from South Korea's capital, Seoul.

The division's 2nd brigade is one of the best trained and most ready US units and is composed of two air assault and infantry regiments and a mechanized infantry battalion.

Boylan said the US military has yet to determine how long the brigade's Iraq tour will last, but said the normal rotation periodfor overseas deployment of US troops is one year.

The US plan prompted concerns that it may weaken the South Korea-US combined deterrent power and lead to a cut in the number of US troops here.

The US authorities will announce whether the brigade will return to South Korea at an "appropriate time," Bolyan said. "We remain committed to the defense of the Republic of Korea together with our ROK partners."

Under a bilateral accord, South Korea and the United States hadalready agreed to relocate the 2nd US Infantry Division to south of Seoul over the next few years, along with the US military headquarters at Yongsan Garrison in central Seoul.

US officials said the realignment plan is part of their broaderreorganization of overseas US forces, which calls for quicker troop deployment from one place to another. Analysts say the US relocation is its first step to reduce its troop level in South Korea.

US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld once strongly indicated that the 100,000-member US troop presence in Japan and South Koreacould be downsized as part of the military's new global strategy.

Meanwhile, South Korea's Yonhap News Agency quoted a military official of South Korea as reporting on Tuesday that the United States will deploy a number of Patriot anti-aircraft missiles in South Korea for the coming year to compensate for the vacuum to bemade by the redeployment.

"The United States will also deploy strategic bombers in Guam and enhance its air defense capabilities in the region that cover the Korean Peninsula," the unidentified official said.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-05/18/content_1475902.htm