Korea, US jointly open eco-friendly ammunition disposal facility

An ammunition disposal facility jointly invested in by Korea and the United States opened in a southern county to disable military ammunition in a more environmentally friendly manner, the defense ministry said Tuesday.

The ammunition recycling-demilitarization facility began operation in Yeongdong, 214 kilometers south of Seoul, after 13 years of planning and construction with 43.5 billion won (US$39.3 million) funded by the two nations.

Under a bilateral deal signed in 1999, South Korea provided the land for the facility and built an incinerator in 2007, while the U.S. added a smelting furnace in 2009.

The U.S. is to pay Korea for using the demilitarization facility and the two countries will each pick up the cost of recycling or demilitarizing ammunition, depending on the amount processed, the ministry said.

The ministry said the facility will adhere to local standards on environmental protection. Previously, disabled ammunition was buried underground or burned outdoors, raising concerns about environmental safety.

"In the past, ammunition waste was exploded or burned in outdoor ammunition disposal facilities, causing several complaints about pollution and noise," a ministry official said. "As the eco-friendly ammunition demilitarization facility goes into operation, only limited cases of ammunition wastes will be disposed of outdoors in the future."

The incinerator can handle up to 650 tons of ammunition smaller than 20 millimeters in caliber each year, while the U.S. furnace can process up to 10,000 tons per year of larger ammunition of at least 100 millimeters in caliber, according to the ministry.

About 28,500 American troops are stationed in Korea as a deterrent against North Korea, as a legacy of the 1950-53 Korean War that ended in a truce, not a peace treaty. (Yonhap)