By Ryu Jin
Staff Reporter

The planned realignment and reduction of American forces here will not prompt a revision of the ROK-U.S. Mutual Defense Treaty, Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon said on Wednesday.

``The primary mission of the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) will remain the same: deterring war, easing tensions and keeping peace on the Korean Peninsula,’’ Ban told reporters during his weekly media briefing.

``The status of the American forces here will not be changed despite the U.S. troop realignment plan and, therefore, I believe we don’t need to consider any revision of the treaty,’’ he said, responding to reporters’ questions on the future of the 50-year-old pact.

Under a new strategy called the Global Defense Posture Review (GPR), the U.S. plans to slash its 37,000-strong USFK by about one-third and expand its role as a regional force in the future.

The reduction plan has raised concerns here as it might lead to a weakening of the combined defense posture against North Korea.

In his briefing, Ban also indicated a shift in Seoul’s position on the Yongsan base relocation issue ahead of next week’s Future of the Alliance talks, better known as FOTA.

He said concrete matters, including possible changes in the size of land for the new base in the Osan-Pyongtaek area, will be discussed further by Seoul and Washington.

``The two sides will have to consult with each other at the coming talks to readjust the scale of the new military bases if the proposed U.S. troop pullout raises the need,’’ he said.

Ban’s remarks support earlier hints that South Korea is seeking to cut down expenses for moving the U.S. base in central Seoul to south of the capital in view of the troop reduction plan.

Lt. Gen. Kwon An-do, deputy defense minister for policy, told The Korea Times on Tuesday that the issue could be brought to the table at the FOTA as ``a new variable has emerged.’’

Ban had a knee-jerk reaction to suggestions that Seoul’s financial burden for the base relocation, expected to be between $2.9 billion to $4.0 billion, should be readdressed if the U.S. pursues a rapid troop reduction.

But experts rejected using the Yongsan relocation costs as a bargaining chip to slow down the U.S. withdrawal.

``Korea needs the U.S. more than the U.S. needs Korea,’’ said Choi A-jin, assistant professor of international relations at Yonsei University’s Graduate School of International Studies. ``We are not in a position to be pressuring the U.S. or bargaining with it over the troop reduction.’’