ROK, US fail to reach deal on USFK relocation

South Korean and US officials ended military talks Tuesday afternoon on the realignment of the US troops here, but failing to sign an agreement, according to a news release of the South Korean Ministry of Defense.

The two delegations to the two-day ninth round of the South Korea-US Future of the Alliance (FOTA) policy initiative talks did not narrow their difference on the scale of the land needed for the US Forces Korea (USFK) relocation, the release said.

In previous rounds of the FOTA discussions, the two allies had already agreed to move the Yongsan Base out of Seoul and to relocate the 2nd Infantry Division of the USFK stationed near the inter-Korean border to Pyeongtaek, some 70 kilometers south of Seoul, by 2007.

"It's necessary to hold sufficient negotiations before signing (the relocation accord) because the US troop cut issue is a significant factor in determining the amount of land" for the realigned US troops, Lt. Gen. Kwon An-do, the chief South Korean delegate, said in a press conference after the end of two-day talks in Seoul.

On Monday, South Korea said it was informed of a US plan to reduce its troops here by 12,500 by next year by the US top negotiator Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Richard Lawless on Sunday.

In wake of the sudden proposal, the South Korean delegates to the FOTA talks insisted the realignment should be revised, becausethe United States would keep a smaller military here, which would diminish its requirements for land to build bases, an official at the South Korean Defense Ministry said.

The two countries will hold an extra session to finalize the Yongsan base relocation in the immediate future, Kwon said.

The release of the South Korean Defense Ministry also said considering the sensitivity of the US troops reduction issue, the two sides "will appropriately reflect the results of troop reduction discussions" in future FOTA talks.

Moreover, South Korean government officials said earlier Tuesday that Seoul will present its own counter-proposal concerning the proposed USFK's partial withdrawal in next round FOTA talks.

The allies began talks in 2002 to reshape their half-century military alliance that underwent difficulties in recent years due to anti-American sentiments in South Korea.

Source: Xinhua