The US military is already moving to pull out almost all of its troops from their most high-profile outpost on the tense border with North Korea, a US Army officer said yesterday, amid plans to slash the total number of US troops in South Korea by one-third.
Reducing the US presence in the area around Panmunjom, a truce village in the middle of the no man's land dividing North and South Korea, was announced this spring. By October, all but a handful of US soldiers are to be removed, handing over most border patrol duties to South Korea.
US Army Captain Ryan Roberts said the transfer was proceeding smoothly, with the two sides negotiating about which buildings to hand over to South Korea first.
The US military is also training South Korean soldiers there in the use of locally made firearms and military hardware. South Korean troops currently attached to US units use mainly US equipment, he said.
"This will all belong to the ROK [South Korea] Army," he said of the US bases Camp Bonifas and Camp Liberty Bell, which are nestled along the border.
The pullout is part of a plan to consolidate the 37,000 US troops stationed in South Korea at expanded bases further south of the border. South Korea-US negotiations on the repositioning ended in discord on Tuesday over how much land would be needed for the new locations.
The future of the US military in South Korea faced another test earlier this week, when the US announced separate plans to withdraw 12,500 US troops from South Korea by the end of next year.
Both allies are still discussing those plans, which have not been finalized.
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