The US will sharply cut its presence later this year in the truce village in the Demilitarized Zone that divides the Koreas but the US-led UN force will still command the unit, the military said yesterday.
North Korea accused US forces on Sunday of planning to withdraw completely from the Demilitarized Zone that bisects the peninsula and from the Joint Security Area (JSA) that straddles the heavily fortified border in the truce village of Panmunjom.
Although seemingly arcane, any changes in the Demilitarized Zone are potentially destabilizing because it is the world's most militarized frontier and a potential Cold War-style flashpoint. Some 1.1 million North Korean troops face 680,000 from South Korea.
The announcement from the UN Command that enforces the truce with North Korea and the Combined Forces Command that brings US and South Korean forces together made clear the changes did not alter the US commitment to the border, although South Koreans would carry out almost all guard duties.
"We embrace the ROK assuming a larger role in the JSA security and support roles as a positive accomplishment," said General Leon LaPorte, who commands the 37,500 US troops in the South. ROK stands for Republic of Korea, the South's name.
The statement said the changes would take effect on Oct. 31 and the UN Command would retain its authority over the Joint Security Area and the southern side of the Demilitarized Zone, which is a 4km wide heavily mined band that snakes 240km from coast to coast.
On Sunday, the Panmunjom mission of the Korean People's Army -- North Korea's military -- said the US had announced "all of a sudden" it was withdrawing completely from the Demilitarized Zone and Joint Security Area.
The US military said on the weekend the report was "completely factually in error."
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