ID :
12677
Wed, 07/16/2008 - 11:46
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/12677
The shortlink copeid
U.S. military bills N. Korea 'potential threat,' calls for more info+
TOKYO, July 16 Kyodo - Top U.S. Forces Japan commander Lt. Gen. Edward Rice urged North Korea on Tuesday to disclose more information about its military capabilities and purposes, describing the country as posing ''a potential threat'' to Northeast Asia.
Speaking at a press conference, Rice also said it has yet to be decided when the U.S. carrier George Washington will be deployed in Yokosuka in Japan due to damage caused by a fire on the vessel in May but there will not be ''a significant delay in its arrival.'' Rice, the chief of the U.S. military in Japan, said North Korea continues to be a ''regime that is not very transparent in terms of their capabilities and their intentions.'' Rice, from the U.S. Air Force, also said he recognizes that participants in the six-party talks on North Korea's denuclearization -- China, Japan, South and North Korea, Russia and the United States -- are working hard to ''diminish that threat to Japan and other countries in the region.''But he declined to comment on details of the multilateral talks, including such disputes as North Korea not providing information about its nuclear weapons in the long-delayed declaration on its nuclear programs presented to the talks last month.
''It's outside my area of responsibility here,'' Rice said.
He also said it is necessary for the U.S. military to try to work closely with the Chinese and Russian militaries ''so that we can continue to be as transparent with each other as possible.'' Rice said the United States can do more together with China or Russia ''to minimize the effects of natural disasters and work on search-and-rescue types of operations.''The commander struck a negative note over early progress in Japan-U.S. talks over possible joint use of Yokota Air Base in western Tokyo by military and civilian airplanes. The U.S. Air Force currently uses the airfield.
''While we are certainly open to these types of steps that we can implement without compromising the operational capability of the base, dual use is a step beyond that which is another matter, which is much more problematic,'' Rice said.
Japan and the United States agreed in 2006 to consult on Yokota'scivilian-military use.
He denied the United States could accept any change in a plan to relocate Marines from Okinawa Prefecture to Guam, saying, ''We do not expect that we will change the schedule or the agreement anytime in the foreseeable future.''The Japanese government and local municipalities in Okinawa are negotiating for a possible redesigning of a plan to build a sea airfield off Nago to which the heliport function of the U.S. Marine Corps' Futemma Air Station in Ginowan will be moved, a key item in a Japan-U.S. accord in 2006 on the realignment of U.S. forces Japan by 2014.
Japan and the United States have agreed on the transfer of some of the Marines in Okinawa to Guam as part of the Futemma base relocation plan.
Rice also said he will do his utmost to reduce, if not eradicate, crimes related to U.S. military personnel, trying to keep the rate of serious crimes involving service personnel at ''half that of the overall Japanese population.''Rice admitted it is possible that ''a small number'' among the 50,000 or so U.S. military personnel stationed home-ported in Japan could be involved in wrongdoings but said the U.S. military is ready to identify suspects and cooperate with Japanese authorities.
The U.S. Navy initially planned to deploy the George Washington at Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, south of Tokyo, next month. But it is believed that the fire and subsequent repairs of the carrier have caused a delay.
The timing of the deployment of the 102,000-ton carrier is a high-profile topic in Japan as the George Washington will be the first nuclear-powered carrier to use a Japanese city as a homeport.
Speaking at a press conference, Rice also said it has yet to be decided when the U.S. carrier George Washington will be deployed in Yokosuka in Japan due to damage caused by a fire on the vessel in May but there will not be ''a significant delay in its arrival.'' Rice, the chief of the U.S. military in Japan, said North Korea continues to be a ''regime that is not very transparent in terms of their capabilities and their intentions.'' Rice, from the U.S. Air Force, also said he recognizes that participants in the six-party talks on North Korea's denuclearization -- China, Japan, South and North Korea, Russia and the United States -- are working hard to ''diminish that threat to Japan and other countries in the region.''But he declined to comment on details of the multilateral talks, including such disputes as North Korea not providing information about its nuclear weapons in the long-delayed declaration on its nuclear programs presented to the talks last month.
''It's outside my area of responsibility here,'' Rice said.
He also said it is necessary for the U.S. military to try to work closely with the Chinese and Russian militaries ''so that we can continue to be as transparent with each other as possible.'' Rice said the United States can do more together with China or Russia ''to minimize the effects of natural disasters and work on search-and-rescue types of operations.''The commander struck a negative note over early progress in Japan-U.S. talks over possible joint use of Yokota Air Base in western Tokyo by military and civilian airplanes. The U.S. Air Force currently uses the airfield.
''While we are certainly open to these types of steps that we can implement without compromising the operational capability of the base, dual use is a step beyond that which is another matter, which is much more problematic,'' Rice said.
Japan and the United States agreed in 2006 to consult on Yokota'scivilian-military use.
He denied the United States could accept any change in a plan to relocate Marines from Okinawa Prefecture to Guam, saying, ''We do not expect that we will change the schedule or the agreement anytime in the foreseeable future.''The Japanese government and local municipalities in Okinawa are negotiating for a possible redesigning of a plan to build a sea airfield off Nago to which the heliport function of the U.S. Marine Corps' Futemma Air Station in Ginowan will be moved, a key item in a Japan-U.S. accord in 2006 on the realignment of U.S. forces Japan by 2014.
Japan and the United States have agreed on the transfer of some of the Marines in Okinawa to Guam as part of the Futemma base relocation plan.
Rice also said he will do his utmost to reduce, if not eradicate, crimes related to U.S. military personnel, trying to keep the rate of serious crimes involving service personnel at ''half that of the overall Japanese population.''Rice admitted it is possible that ''a small number'' among the 50,000 or so U.S. military personnel stationed home-ported in Japan could be involved in wrongdoings but said the U.S. military is ready to identify suspects and cooperate with Japanese authorities.
The U.S. Navy initially planned to deploy the George Washington at Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, south of Tokyo, next month. But it is believed that the fire and subsequent repairs of the carrier have caused a delay.
The timing of the deployment of the 102,000-ton carrier is a high-profile topic in Japan as the George Washington will be the first nuclear-powered carrier to use a Japanese city as a homeport.
