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U.S. to pull out most forces from Korean DMZ this year
EFL - caught via DrudgeThe U.S. military will withdraw most if its forces from the Demilitarized Zone separating North and South Korea this year, an official announced today. The withdrawal means the United States will no longer have combat troops anywhere on the DMZ except at Panmunjom, where a U.S.-Korean battalion, commanded by a U.S. army lieutenant colonel, remains on guard in what is known as the Joint Security Area. Therefore South Korea, which has a 600,000-member military, will face North Koreaâs armed forces, the worldâs fifth largest with 1.1 million soldiers, most of whom are concentrated near the DMZ. The United States will turn over Observation Post Ouellette, which provides a view into North Korea, as part of a force reshuffle, the official said. U.S. forces will no longer guard the border, except except for the troops at the JSA in Panmunjom. South Korean forces will take over Ouelette, just as they have replaced U.S. forces everywhere else along the DMZ since the Korean War ended in 1953. South Korea officials, however, want the U.S. to keep its troops in the Joint Security Area as symbols of Americaâs commitment to defend the South. The 2 1/2-mile wide, 151-mile long DMZ, is considered one of the last remaining symbols of the Cold War. However it is still an active war zone with mines, barbed wire and tank traps. U.S. troops guarding the inter-Korean border have served as a strategic "tripwire" because they are presumed to come under fire during a North Korean attack, thereby prompting U.S. intervention in South Koreaâs defense. The United States has about 37,000 troops stationed in South Korea, but has long kept fewer than 200 soldiers along the DMZ, at Observation Post Ouellette and Panmunjom, said U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Deborah Bertrand, a spokeswoman for U.S. Forces Korea. Details on the timing of Ouelletteâs turnover and the eventual troop level at Panmunjom are still being decided in consultation with South Korea, Bertrand said, adding: "It will be this year." âbout friggin time we pulled back from tripwire status Posted by: Frank G 2004-04-13 |
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