U.S. Bolsters Forces In South Korea With Armored Unit

@AFP

Washington (AFP) – The U.S. military will deploy 800 additional troops from an armored unit to South Korea to bolster its forces in case of a crisis with North Korea, the Pentagon said Tuesday.

The U.S. Army soldiers, armored vehicles and tanks from the 1st Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment will be stationed at camps Hovey and Stanley near the demarcation line with the North starting next month, military officers said.

The rotational deployment is part of a strategic shift towards the Asia-Pacific region “and allows for greater responsiveness to better meet theater operational requirements,” the Pentagon said in a statement.

“This is a plus-up,” spokesman Colonel Steven Warren told reporters, confirming that the US military presence would expand under the decision.

The move “is part of our rebalance to the Pacific,” he said.

The U.S. military already has 28,500 troops on the ground in the South and the decision to send reinforcements appeared to signal Washington’s concern over possible provocations from volatile North Korea.

But Warren said the deployment had “been long planned.”

The unit includes 40 Abrams M1 tanks and 40 Bradley armored fighting vehicles, he added.

Under a treaty with Seoul, the U.S. military commander would lead both the American contingent and South Korea’s 640,000-strong force in case of a war with the North.

During peacetime, each side maintains operational command of their own troops.

South Korea agreed to take over wartime operational command of all troops starting in 2015, after delaying a previous target date in 2012.

Tensions with North Korea have prompted Seoul to reconsider the plan, and the South has asked Washington to review the timing of the scheduled transition.

The “combat ready” cavalry unit will stay in South Korea for a nine-month tour but will leave its armored vehicles and tanks behind for troops that follow them, the Pentagon said.

The announcement came a day after Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel hosted South Korea’s Foreign Minister Yun Byung-Se for talks at the Pentagon.

“The two discussed the importance of maintaining a robust combined defense of the Korean Peninsula as a strong deterrent against provocations from North Korea,” spokesman Rear Admiral John Kirby said.

South Korea and the United States have called for vigilance on the peninsula after North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un ordered the execution of his uncle, Jang Song-Thaek, for an alleged plot.

Start your day with National Memo Newsletter

Know first.

The opinions that matter. Delivered to your inbox every morning

How A Stuttering President Confronts A Right-Wing Bully

Donald Trump mocks Joe Biden’s stutter,” the headlines blare, and I am confronted (again) with (more) proof that the presumptive Republican presidential nominee hates people like me.

Keep reading...Show less
Trump at Trump Tower

Former President Donald Trump at Trump Tower in Manhattan

NEW YORK, March 25 (Reuters) - Donald Trump faces a Monday deadline to post a bond to cover a $454 million civil fraud judgment or face the risk of New York state seizing some of his marquee properties.Trump, seeking to regain the presidency this year, must either pay the money out of his own pocket or post a bond while he appeals Justice Arthur Engoron's February 16 judgment against him for manipulating his net worth and his family real estate company's property values to dupe lenders and insurers.

Keep reading...Show less
{{ post.roar_specific_data.api_data.analytics }}