YONHAP NEWS

(LEAD) Seoul rebuffs U.S. commander's claim on base relocation cost

   By Byun Duk-kun
SEOUL, March 17 (Yonhap) -- South Korea rebutted Monday a claim by the commander of U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) that Seoul would pay much more than it agreed to for the relocation of U.S. troops here, nearly calling the U.S. commander a wishful thinker.

   The reaction from South Korea came one day after Sunday's reports that Gen. Burwell B. Bell recently told a Congressional hearing that Seoul has agreed to shoulder half of the costs to relocate U.S. troops from Seoul's Yongsan Garrison and frontline bases to Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province.

   In the U.S. House Appropriations Committee hearing, Bell said the relocation project would cost Seoul about US$10 billion in total and that the country has already spent some $2 billion.

   The USFK commander said Monday that his remarks at the U.S. committee hearing had been either misstated or misquoted and that his original statement should have read "South Korea has already spent $2 billion in an effort that will cost the two nations a total of approximately $10 billion."
Bell, however, did not back down from his earlier claim that Seoul has agreed to and would pick up part of the costs to relocate the frontline 2nd U.S. Infantry Division, though Seoul earlier said such claims are "not true."
Seoul has long said it will pick up the entire cost of relocating U.S. troops from Seoul, about $4.4 billion, as the move comes at its request, but insists the cost of relocating the 2nd Infantry Division must be shouldered by Washington as it comes under its own plan.

   "The total cost of the USFK base relocation project to be shouldered by the South Korean side is 4.58 trillion won ($4.38 billion)," the Defense Ministry said in a press release.

   Without commenting on whether Seoul has agreed to provide financial assistance strictly for the relocation of the frontline U.S. troops, the USFK commander said the U.S. is able to use money provided by Seoul to share the burden of maintaining U.S. forces here toward any end it sees fit, including the relocation of the 2nd Infantry Division.

   "If the Republic of Korea disagrees with this, it will be necessary for the Korean government to raise the issue with the United States," Bell said in a statement released Monday by the USFK Public Affairs Office.

   The South Korean Defense Ministry earlier said the base relocation project is being pursued "under an agreement that South Korea would shoulder the cost of relocating the Yongsan base and the U.S. side would pay for the relocation costs of the 2nd Infantry Division."
The controversy was largely created as Seoul believes any attempt to financially assist the relocation of the 2nd U.S. Infantry Division would quickly lead to severe public criticism for paying for a project eyed solely by Washington.

   Speaking on the separate issue of sharing the costs of maintaining the U.S. presence here, Bell told last week's committee hearing that South Korea's willingness to share appropriate defense costs "is a clear indicator that the United States forces in Korea are welcome and wanted."
bdk@yna.co.kr
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