EDITORIAL
Korea troop moves make sense — later

The United States and South Korea have been conducting talks regarding adjustments to the American presence in the latter country since December, in the midst of a crisis with North Korea.

What appears to be emerging may make sense in the long run, but raises questions about the wisdom of its timing.

The Korea Times reports that the two countries have agreed to move the U.S. theater headquarters at Yongsan, Seoul, south to Osan, by next year.

This move makes great sense. It's a move the Koreans have wanted for years, mainly because the land on which the Yongsan garrison stands in downtown Seoul is said to be worth $2 billion.

But, said the Times, the two sides so far have failed to agree on relocation of the 2nd Infantry Division, the 14,000-strong mainstay of the U.S. commitment to deterring an invasion by North Korea.

Washington, says the Times, wants to move the division south of Seoul, out of what has long been regarded as a "tripwire" position near the demilitarized zone.

In so doing, the Times suggests, the U.S. division could be reduced by perhaps half, with those troops leaving the peninsula.

The South Koreans, however, want any such move delayed until after the North Korean nuclear crisis is resolved.

The idea of a tripwire at the DMZ — the centerpiece of the South Korean defense since 1953 — "is," according to a high-ranking U.S. defense source, "an antiquated concept."

The capabilities displayed by U.S. forces in Iraq in the last few weeks, he said, illustrate our ability to project power at short notice and still win a war. Meanwhile, South Korean armed forces in recent years have become more than ready to pick up the slack on the ground.

And U.S. forces wouldn't exactly be moved out of harm's way. Even if U.S. forces moved to the far southern end of the peninsula, North Koreans still have missiles that can reach them.

While all this is true, perceptions are crucial at a time when North Korea insists it anticipates an American invasion and President Bush has refused to take the threat of a pre-emptive attack against the North's renewed nuclear weapons programs off the table.

Some observers might see a U.S. pullback as a weakening in the 50-year American commitment to defense of the South. Others might think it's a removal of U.S. troops from harm's way ahead of a coming conflagration.

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has suggested that American strength can be reduced because that's what South Koreans want. That's simplistic; South Koreans have been angered by what they consider to be arrogant behavior by American troops, such as their insistence on a status-of-forces agreement that allows American commanders, instead of South Korean institutions, to deal with GIs who break the law. But they know — and South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun acknowledges — they need help in deterring North Korea's million-strong army.

In the interest of stability, any withdrawal of the 2nd Infantry Division should be postponed until the present crisis is resolved.