US military authorities said yesterday they had deployed new batteries of ground-to-air Patriot missiles in the southwestern city of Gwangju, a move that has triggered strong protests from activists there.
The deployment of two upgraded Patriot missile batteries in Gwangju, 187km southwest of Seoul, is part of a global redeployment program of US forces.
The 8th US Army had since late April been moving its 35th Air Defense Brigade from Fort Bliss, Texas and its two upgraded Patriot missile batteries to South Korea.
"The deployment of Patriot PAC-3 Air Defense Artillery Brigade was completed last week with the final load of equipment into Gwangju Air Base," the US Forces in Korea said in a statement.
The new missile brigade will be headquartered in the US air base at Osan, 35km south of Seoul, and its two missile batteries will be based in Gwangju.
The US forces will also retain their six existing Patriot missile batteries -- PAC-1 or PAC-2 batteries -- in South Korea under the command of the new brigade, US command officials said.
The deployment of new missiles has met angry protests from activists in Gwangju, formerly spelled Kwangju, and known for anti-US sentiment.
Activists and students in Gwangju have launched a campaign with a target to collect signatures from 100,000 people opposed to the missile deployment and have been holding rallies and street marches against the move.
The US Forces in Korea said in the statement the air defense brigade and Eighth US Army leadership "appreciate the cooperation of the Gwangju citizens" for the deployment.
"We also understand the need to be a good neighbor within the community and will work closely with the people of Gwangju to foster good communication, cultural awareness and mutual understanding," it said.
The deployment is part of Washington's force improvement program aimed to compensate for its plan to redeploy its forces in South Korea, under which one third of its 37,500 troops in the country will be pulled out in phases until September 2008.
The number of US troops to be withdrawn includes 3,600 already transferred to Iraq this year. The troops in Iraq will not return to South Korea.
The deployment of new missiles is part of an US$11 billion spending program aimed at compensating for the reduction in the number of troops, including high-speed vessels, attack helicopters and armored vehicles.
North Korea has angrily protested the missile deployment, claiming it is part of US preparations to launch a pre-emptive attack on the communist state.
Archeologists in Peru on Thursday said they found the 5,000-year-old remains of a noblewoman at the sacred city of Caral, revealing the important role played by women in the oldest center of civilization in the Americas. “What has been discovered corresponds to a woman who apparently had elevated status, an elite woman,” archeologist David Palomino said. The mummy was found in Aspero, a sacred site within the city of Caral that was a garbage dump for more than 30 years until becoming an archeological site in the 1990s. Palomino said the carefully preserved remains, dating to 3,000BC, contained skin, part of the
‘WATER WARFARE’: A Pakistani official called India’s suspension of a 65-year-old treaty on the sharing of waters from the Indus River ‘a cowardly, illegal move’ Pakistan yesterday canceled visas for Indian nationals, closed its airspace for all Indian-owned or operated airlines, and suspended all trade with India, including to and from any third country. The retaliatory measures follow India’s decision to suspend visas for Pakistani nationals in the aftermath of a deadly attack by shooters in Kashmir that killed 26 people, mostly tourists. The rare attack on civilians shocked and outraged India and prompted calls for action against their country’s archenemy, Pakistan. New Delhi did not publicly produce evidence connecting the attack to its neighbor, but said it had “cross-border” links to Pakistan. Pakistan denied any connection to
TRUMP EFFECT: The win capped one of the most dramatic turnarounds in Canadian political history after the Conservatives had led the Liberals by more than 20 points Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney yesterday pledged to win US President Donald Trump’s trade war after winning Canada’s election and leading his Liberal Party to another term in power. Following a campaign dominated by Trump’s tariffs and annexation threats, Carney promised to chart “a new path forward” in a world “fundamentally changed” by a US that is newly hostile to free trade. “We are over the shock of the American betrayal, but we should never forget the lessons,” said Carney, who led the central banks of Canada and the UK before entering politics earlier this year. “We will win this trade war and
Armed with 4,000 eggs and a truckload of sugar and cream, French pastry chefs on Wednesday completed a 121.8m-long strawberry cake that they have claimed is the world’s longest ever made. Youssef El Gatou brought together 20 chefs to make the 1.2 tonne masterpiece that took a week to complete and was set out on tables in an ice rink in the Paris suburb town of Argenteuil for residents to inspect. The effort overtook a 100.48m-long strawberry cake made in the Italian town of San Mauro Torinese in 2019. El Gatou’s cake also used 350kg of strawberries, 150kg of sugar and 415kg of
RSS