*EPF404 03/13/2003
U.S.-South Korea Alliance Will Endure, U.S. Commander Says
(Gen. LaPorte before Senate Armed Services panel March 13) (500)

By Jane Morse
Washington File Staff Writer

Washington -- The alliance between the Republic of Korea (ROK) and the United States will endure, despite recent tensions, says the top U.S. commander of military forces on the Korean Peninsula.

"The Republic of Korea-United States alliance has weathered challenges for over 50 years, and this partnership will continue to endure," General Leon J. LaPorte told the Senate Armed Services Committee in prepared remarks March 13.

LaPorte is the commander of the United Nations Command, Republic of Korea-United States Combined Forces Command, and the United States Forces Korea. Some 37,000 U.S. soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines and 5,700 civilian employees work under his authority.

The General noted that while anti-Americanism was highly evident during the ROK presidential elections, anti-U.S. forces demonstrations have "virtually disappeared" since December 2002, when President Roh Moo-Hyun was elected.

"Through our Republic of Korea-United States Status of Forces Joint Committee process," LaPorte said, "we identified ways to improve implementation of the 2001 Status of Forces Agreement." He added that the "prompt and comprehensive actions" of the committee have been successful in addressing the concerns of many South Koreans -- such as vehicular safety and convoy operations, which were implicated in the death of two young Korean women last year.

The U.S.-ROK alliance, he said, can be improved by "closely examining the roles, missions, capabilities, force structure, and stationing of our respective forces."

"We have an opportunity to revitalize the alliance in constructive ways that enhance this mutually beneficial partnership while ensuring peninsula and regional security," he said.

The United States and the Republic of Korea have begun the process of "redefining" the alliance, LaPorte said. The focus is on future roles, missions, functions, structure, and stationing of troops, he continued. Discussions between the U.S. Secretary of Defense and the ROK Minister of Defense, according to LaPorte, will ensure that the alliance has the "right balance" for the future, including life after the reconciliation of North and South Korea.

On North Korea, LaPorte said the dangerous dictatorship of Kim Jong-Il continues to threaten the peace, security and stability of all northeast Asia.

"North Korean brinksmanship ensures that the Korean Peninsula remains a place of palpable danger, illustrated by North Korea's unprovoked attack on a Republic of Korea patrol boat in the West Sea on 29 June 2002 and North Korean efforts to develop highly enriched uranium nuclear weapons," he said.

"North Korea continues to flagrantly violate its international agreements resulting in increased regional tensions," LaPorte added. "The Republic of Korea and United States forces continue to face the possibility of a high intensity war involving large conventional forces and significant weapons of mass destruction."

The entire text of LaPorte's 29-page prepared testimony can be found on the Senate Armed Services Committee's website at: http://www.senate.gov/~armed_services/statemnt/2003/March/LaPorte.pdf

(The Washington File is a product of the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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