U.S., S. Korea Sign Accord on Military Base

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Saturday, March 30, 2002

U.S., S. Korea Sign Accord on Military Base

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The United States and South Korea Friday signed a "Land Partnership Plan (LPP)" accord under which the former is committed to closing or amalgamating its military bases in South Korea within the next 10 years, the two governmentsannounced.

Under the plan, signed here by Commander Thomas Schwartz of theU.S. forces in South Korea and South Korean Defense Minister Kim Dong-Shin, the land used by the U.S. forces will be reduced from 211 hectares to 90 hectares. At the same time, the number of the U.S. military bases in the country will be cut from 41 to 23. However the total number of 37,000 U.S. troops stationed in South Korea will remain unchanged.

"The signing of the plan will help reduce the anger of South Koreans toward the U.S. forces here, and it will also be conduciveto regional economic development while providing more stable conditions for the stationing of U.S. troops and further consolidating the U.S.-South Korea alliance," said the South Korean minister.

Meanwhile, Schwartz described the LPP as a "win-win" deal for both sides, saying the plan would "enhance the quality of the U.S.military bases and protect them from possible threat of terrorism and sabotage."

The implementation of the LPP will cost about 2.5 billion U.S. dollars which would be shared by the two sides.

The LPP accord is the most sweeping measure the two sides have taken so far in dealing with the U.S. military bases in South Korea. However, the plan does not mention the relocation of a U.S.base at Yongsan in central Seoul and a shooting range for the U.S.Air Force in Maehyang-Ri, Kyonggi-Do, which have aroused indignation among the South Korean people.

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