By Jung Sung-ki
Staff Reporter
Top defense officials from South Korea and the United States will hold talks next week to try to reach an agreement on the timeline and cost for relocating American military bases to south of the Han River, officials at the Ministry of National Defense said Friday.
Vice Defense Minister Chang Soo-man will represent the South Korean delegation at the one-day meeting April 23 in Seoul, while Gen. Walter L. Sharp, commander of U.S. Forces Korea (USFK), will lead the U.S. side, they said.
Seoul and Washington have engaged in tug-of-war talks over the U.S. base relocation agreed on in 2004. South Korea wants the relocation to be completed by 2014, while the United States hopes for 2016, according to officials.
``Both sides have yet to fix a timetable and cost-sharing for the project. We hope the issue will be finalized next week,'' a ministry spokesman said.
Earlier this year, the two governments reportedly neared an agreement to complete the relocation of the U.S. military headquarters in Yongsan, Seoul, to a consolidated base in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, by 2014, while the sides remained split over the timeline for moving the bases of the 2nd Infantry Division (ID) scattered around the north of Seoul.
South Korea called for completing the 2nd ID relocation by the time the Yongsan relocation is finalized, while the United Stated targeted 2016, citing budgetary problems, according to sources.
The USFK has complained about budget shortfalls for relocating the units, since the expansion of Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek is estimated to cost about $600 million annually, twice the budget it could procure, they said.
Seoul authorities, on the other hand, believe the estimated budget is affordable for the USFK as the latest defense cost-sharing agreement allows the U.S. military to use host-nation funds in relocating the 2nd ID units.
The relocation project is estimated to cost about $11 billion. South Korea is to bear half of the cost under a master plan drawn up in 2007.
Under the 2004 land-swap pact, the United States promised to gradually return a combined 170 square kilometers of land, housing 42 military bases and related facilities spread across the country, into South Korean hands by 2011.
In return, South Korea agreed to offer 12 square kilometers of land to help triple the size of Camp Humphreys. The consolidated military hub, 70 kilometers south of Seoul, will accommodate about 44,000 U.S. service personnel, their families, base workers and South Korean soldiers.
The two allies agreed that South Korea will bear the cost of relocating the Yongsan Garrison, while the United States will foot the bill for moving 2nd ID bases.
The relocation had actually been scheduled to be completed by 2008. But the plan hit a snag due to protest rallies by anti-U.S. groups and local farmers. Seoul and Washington later readjusted the target year to 2012.
About 28,500 American troops are stationed here.