By Ryu Jin
Staff Reporter

South Korea is seeking ways to cut down on expenses needed to move the main U.S. base in Seoul to south of the capital in view of the U.S.-proposed reduction of the American soldiers stationed here, officials said on Tuesday.

``We’re carefully considering bringing the issue to the table at next week’s bilateral talks as a new variable has recently emerged,’’ Lt. Gen. Kwon An-do, deputy defense minister for policy, told The Korea Times. Kwon is the chief Seoul delegate to the Future of the Alliance Policy Initiative talks, or FOTA.

``We’ll explore measures to reduce the financial costs needed for the realignment of the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK), including the Yongsan Garrison,’’ he said.

Another government official also admitted that the Osan-Pyongtaek base, where the U.S. Yongsan Garrison and the 2nd Infantry Division will be relocated, will inevitably be slimmed down if the U.S. proposal of reducing 12,000 soldiers out of the 37,000-strong USFK is realized.

Their remarks are significant in that the South Korean government has stuck to the position that the Yongsan base relocation is a separate issue from the recently surfaced issue of downsizing the USFK.

But the Foreign Affairs-Trade Ministry rebuffed the possibility of dealing with the issue during the incoming bilateral talks by saying Seoul and Washington have already reached an agreement regarding the matter.

Critics said the government has failed again to coordinate, revealing discrepancies among relevant ministries in addressing the security issues.

Seoul and Washington have agreed to move most of the 37,000 troops, positioned near the heavily fortified border with North Korea, to south of the capital by 2007.

Though they have been trying to minimize the costs, officials here said almost all of the financial burden should be on the shoulder of South Korea since ``they’re moving out of Seoul at our request.’’

However, some began to argue that, as was shown in recent developments related to the USFK realignment, the American soldiers are moving on because of their own needs and therefore the expenses should be jointly borne.

Last month, the U.S. informed Seoul of its plan to shift a brigade of about 3,600 American soldiers to Iraq, which was disclosed later as part of Washington’s plan to withdraw one-third of the USFK under a new strategy called the Global Defense Posture Review (GPR).

jinryu@koreatimes.co.kr