By Park Song-wu
Staff Reporter


U.S. forces stationed in South Korea have contingency plans to intervene in regional conflicts, including disputes involving China and North Korea, according to a classified document released by Rep. Roh Hoe-chan of the Democratic Labor Party on Tuesday.

Roh claimed that the U.S. Forces Korea’s (USFK) ``high-level’’ scenario includes involvement in disputes between China and other regional powers in Northeast Asia, military intervention in conflicts between China and Taiwan and the use of armed forces to manage a crisis on or near the Korean peninsula in case of the sudden collapse of the North Korean regime.

``The United States clarified its intention to intervene militarily in North Korea and China,’’ Roh said at a press conference at the National Assembly. ``In the mid-level scenario, Washington will intensify its pressure on Pyongyang if it continues trying to develop nuclear weapons. This will eventually irritate Beijing, leading to a full-scale conflict between China and the U.S.’’

Roh said the document was written in July 2003 by officials from the National Security Council (NSC), the Foreign Affairs-Trade Ministry and the Defense Ministry before attending bilateral defense talks with Washington, dubbed the Future of the Alliance (FOTA).

The document is an indication that Seoul is taking serious measures to prepare for a broader regional role taken by the USFK, Roh said. U.S. troops here have traditionally been considered a ``fixture’’ on the Korean peninsula.

But the Defense Ministry in Seoul dismissed Roh’s arguments as groundless.

``The document was written by working-level officials compiling dissertations, research papers and other data for a mock discussion preparing Seoul officials for the FOTA meeting,’’ the Defense Ministry said in a statement. ``We’ve never shared our opinions or discussed with the U.S. a possible extension of the USFK’s role.’’

Considering Roh’s privileged rights as a lawmaker, the ministry said it will not take legal measures against him despite the leakage of the ``second-degree’’ intelligence during his news conference.

Roh and civic group leaders have argued that the reason for Washington’s attempt to relocate its 2nd Infantry Division in Kyonggi Province and Seoul’s Yongsan garrison to Pyongtaek, 70 kilometers south of Seoul, is related to a strategy to readjust the USFK’s role as a regional force in Northeast Asia.

Foreign Affairs-Trade Minister Ban Ki-moon said in an exclusive interview with The Korea Times on Nov. 1 that South Korea was not opposed to U.S. forces playing a greater role in Northeast Asia unless it means a weakening of the combined defense posture for ensuring peace and stability on the Korean peninsula.

``I admit the necessity of what the Americans call `strategic flexibility’,’’ Ban said in the interview, citing the changed global security situation over the past 50 years. ``Nobody (in the South Korean government) has opposed that.’’

But experts in Seoul predict China’s discontent with South Korea will grow if the U.S., using the peninsula as a military base, decides to involve itself in a conflict between China and Taiwan. The Beijing government considers Taiwan a runaway province that must be reunited with the mainland.

In a related development, Roh demanded that parliament cut the 10-billion-won ($10 million) budget assigned for replacing the outdated Nike Hercules surface-to-air missiles with U.S.-made Patriot missiles.

Arguing that Patriot missiles are a core factor in Washington’s Missile Defense system, Roh said South Korea should not allow the U.S. to install the system on the Korean peninsula as it would trigger an arms race in Northeast Asia.

im@koreatimes.co.kr