S.Korea, US issue statement after military talks

Home>>World

Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, November 17, 2003

S.Korea, US issue statement after military talks

South Korea and the United States have held their annual military meeting and issued a joint statement.

DISCUSSION

CHINESE

SEND TO FRIEND

South Korea and the United States have held their annual military meeting and issued a joint statement.

The visiting US Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and his South Korean counterpart Cho Young-kil issued the joint statement after the Security Consultative Meeting (SCM) held earlier Monday.

According to the 12-point statement, Rumsfeld expressed his appreciation for South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun's announcement of sending additional troops to Iraq to help the US-led rehabilitation efforts there.

Seoul in October agreed to accept the US request to dispatch more troops to the Middle East country. And Roh Moo-hyun recently gave a guideline to his government to send no more than 3,000 troops to Iraq.

The statement also confirmed an earlier US-South Korean agreement to relocate the US military command out of the center of Seoul and consolidate other American bases in South Korea by 2006.

But the statement said the two allies failed to reach a full agreement on the issue at Monday's meeting, without specifying what blocked agreement. South Korean officials hinted that the sticking point was where to base the combined military headquarters of the two sides.

The two defense ministers also expressed their concern over the nuclear issue of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK),urging Pyongyang to "completely, verifiably and irreversibly dismantle its nuclear weapons programs and to cease the testing, development, deployment and export of weapons of mass destruction,missiles, and related technologies."

Questions?Comments? Click here

Rumsfeld arrives in Seoul for military meeting

China slams AIT head's remarks on Taiwan issue ( 4 Messages)

Internet changes life in China: News focus ( 2 Messages)

2003, the first pageant year in China? ( 4 Messages)

US rushes to embrace strategy of "Iraqification" ( 4 Messages)

Traffic woes to ease with express thoroughfares ( 3 Messages)