LEAD) US agrees to S. Korean timetable for relocation of its base in Seoul: officials

((ATTN: RECASTS lead; TRIMS; ADDS response from US side in para 4; CORRECTS
attendants of meeting in para 3)
By Sam Kim
SEOUL, Jan. 5 (Yonhap) -- The United States has agreed to a South Korea-proposed
timetable for relocating its military command in Seoul to south of the capital by
2014, but the sides remain split on when to complete the relocation of a
frontline U.S. base, officials here said Monday.

The United States had initially proposed that the relocation of Yongsan Garrison
to Pyeongtaek, about 50 kilometers south of Seoul, be completed by 2019, citing
costs.
South Korea's defense minister and the top U.S. commander here recently met in
Seoul and agreed on the timetable, South Korean officials said, but the two sides
have yet to finalize the year for the relocation of a major U.S. infantry
division from north of Seoul to Pyeongtaek.
U.S. officials declined a request for confirmation.
The relocation is part of a multi-billion-dollar U.S. project to realign and
streamline its troops abroad.
Some 28,500 U.S. troops are stationed here as a legacy of the 1950-53 Korean War.
South Korea technically remains at war with North Korea as the conflict ended
only with an armistice agreement, not a peace treaty.
samkim@yna.co.kr
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