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US General Vincent Brooks (left) with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Photo: AFP

Plan to reduce demilitarised zone outposts in Korea is ‘worth the risks’, says US General Vincent Brooks

Top commander in South Korea says plan to reduce guard posts and equipment along fortified border with the North represents a good opportunity to reduce tensions

South Korea
The top commander of US troops in South Korea said on Wednesday he supports moves to withdraw some outposts along the fortified border with North Korea, despite the risks.

South Korea’s defence ministry has said it plans to reduce guard posts and equipment along the demilitarised zone on its border with North Korea as part of efforts to reduce tension and build trust with its northern neighbour.

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“I have some concerns about what that means militarily for the ability to defend along the Military Demarcation Line,” US General Vincent Brooks said on Wednesday.

But he said that the risk is “a reasonable degree” and the move represents a good opportunity to reduce tensions.

About 28,500 US troops are stationed in South Korea, a legacy of the Korean war, which ended in 1953 in an armistice that left the North Korea technically still at war with South Korea and the US-led United Nations command.

South Korean guards during a ceremony to commemorate the 65th Anniversary of the Korean War armistice agreement in the Korean demilitarised zone. Photo: EPA

Besides serving as the commander of those troops, Brooks also commands UN forces, and in the case of war, would take command of South Korean troops as well.

Brooks also said that his troops are finding “other ways” to maintain readiness in the absence of major military drills, which were cancelled or delayed by US President Donald Trump as part of a deal with North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un.

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“I received no order to become unready,” he said. “Nobody told me to stand down.”

When Trump announced the plan after his summit with Kim in Singapore in June, a spokeswoman for US military forces in Korea said at the time they had not received any direction to cease joint military drills.

When asked on Wednesday if he had advance warning of Trump’s June announcement, Brooks said as a commander in the field he had no expectation that he would be briefed on the president’s plans.

“Orders come in many different ways,” he said. “So for a military commander it’s not a matter of debate, it’s a matter of implementation.”

Brooks did not elaborate on how his command had adjusted to the changes in military exercises.

He credited the military presence in South Korea with “successfully” setting the stage for this year’s diplomatic talks with North Korea, and said he supports maintaining pressure on North Korea to prevent it from “backing up” on diplomatic steps.

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: US general in favour of reduction in DMZ
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