By Jung Sung-ki

South Korea has agreed to provide the United States with 3.5 million pyong (about 1,155 hectares) of land south of Seoul for a new base for the American forces after they move from the current Yongsan Garrison, officials said Sunday.

The size of land for the new base has been the major sticking point in negotiations over the base relocation between the two countries. The U.S. wanted 3.6 million pyong (1,190 hectares) of land while South Korea has insisted on less than 3.3 million pyong (1,090 hectares).

``After comprehensively reviewing the U.S.’ master plan toward relocation of the base to Osan and Pyongtaek in Kyonggi Province, we concluded that its demand was not excessive,’’ said a Defense Ministry official. ``So both sides decided to take a step back from their previous positions to forge a compromise.’’

``The government believes it’s undesirable to delay the negotiation indefinitely just because of a 300,000 pyong difference, considering the half-century ROK-U.S. alliance.’’ the source explained.

The U.S. plan to return more than 10 million pyong currently used by the 2nd Infantry Division plus the 41.14 million pyong in accordance with the LPP (Land Partnership Plan) has also helped to reach a compromise on the issue.

The two nations are also set to iron out several differing views on other unresolved issues such as C4I (command control system), construction of U.S. military officials’ barracks and design for the new garrison.

With the provisional consensus between the two countries, the Seoul government is poised to finalize the umbrella agreement (UA) and implementing agreement (IA) regarding the relocation of Yongsan Garrison at the 10th Future of the Alliance Policy Initiative talks, or FOTA, to be held in Washington D.C., on July 22-23.

If the FOTA session manages to forge a final agreement, the UA will be ratified by the National Assembly next month after being reviewed by the National Security Council and President Roh Moo-hyun. And the relocation plan will get underway after ROK-U.S. Combined Forces Commander Leon J. LaPorte and South Korea’s Defense Minister Cho Young-kil sign the ratified pact.

Some government officials, however, indicated that the two sides have yet to reach a consensus on the timing of the relocation program.

The South Korean government had been seeking to delay the realignment by at least one year to 2008. citing practical difficulties, regarding land purchase and the construction period.

``The upcoming FOTA session is not expected to be as smooth as we want,’’ a government official said. ``The U.S. side has been speeding up efforts toward that end for fear of facing unexpected problems due to the possible change of government following the upcoming U.S. presidential election in November.’’

Meanwhile, despite the generally positive tone on the relocation talks within the government, some lawmakers have been trying to find loopholes in the issue.

A group of lawmakers from the ruling and opposition parties announced Sunday that they planned to present a bill next week to mobilize government auditors to investigate possible irregularities behind the U.S. base relocation plan.

``Prior to the ratification the National Assembly wants to know how much money will be needed for the plan and who will pay,’’ the Democratic Liberal Party’s Roh Hoi-chan said.

The audit’s main focus will be on who will pay what share of the costs and whether the initial agreement in 1990 was fair or not.

The move drew keen attention as the bill would be the first bid by the country’s Board of Audit and Inspection to investigate the nation’s foreign affairs.

gallantjung@koreatimes.co.kr