ID :
188481
Tue, 06/14/2011 - 13:07
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/188481
The shortlink copeid
S. Korean FM leaves open possibility of SOFA revision
SEOUL, June 14 (Yonhap) -- South Korean Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan on Tuesday left open the possibility of revising a legal code governing U.S. troops in the country, amid mounting concerns about the possible burial of toxic materials at a U.S. base in South Korea.
The minister was speaking at a meeting of the National Assembly's foreign affairs and trade committee, as a joint investigation is under way to probe allegations that the U.S. military buried the toxic defoliant Agent Orange inside a base in Chilgok, some 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul, in 1978.
The U.S. stations some 28,500 service members in South Korea to deter potential aggression from North Korea. The recent allegations have prompted activists to demand a revision to the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) that governs the legal status of U.S. troops. They say the agreement's environment-related clauses should be put in clearer and more legally binding terms.
"We first need to see the results of the investigation at Camp Carroll," Kim said, referring to the base where Agent Orange was allegedly buried. "If the current legal provisions are not enough, we will start negotiations with the U.S. to revise SOFA."
Agent Orange was widely used during the Vietnam War and sprayed around the inter-Korean border in the 1960s to remove foliage in which potential North Korean infiltrators could take cover. Contaminated by dioxin, the defoliant is suspected of causing serious health problems, including cancer and genetic damage, among some people, as well as birth defects in their children.
hague@yna.co.kr
The minister was speaking at a meeting of the National Assembly's foreign affairs and trade committee, as a joint investigation is under way to probe allegations that the U.S. military buried the toxic defoliant Agent Orange inside a base in Chilgok, some 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul, in 1978.
The U.S. stations some 28,500 service members in South Korea to deter potential aggression from North Korea. The recent allegations have prompted activists to demand a revision to the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) that governs the legal status of U.S. troops. They say the agreement's environment-related clauses should be put in clearer and more legally binding terms.
"We first need to see the results of the investigation at Camp Carroll," Kim said, referring to the base where Agent Orange was allegedly buried. "If the current legal provisions are not enough, we will start negotiations with the U.S. to revise SOFA."
Agent Orange was widely used during the Vietnam War and sprayed around the inter-Korean border in the 1960s to remove foliage in which potential North Korean infiltrators could take cover. Contaminated by dioxin, the defoliant is suspected of causing serious health problems, including cancer and genetic damage, among some people, as well as birth defects in their children.
hague@yna.co.kr
