USFK ready to coordinate priorities with Seoul: spokesperson

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By Sam Kim
SEOUL, Jan. 15 (Yonhap) -- The top U.S. military public relations officer in
South Korea expressed hope on Thursday that the two allies will coordinate their
defense priorities here this year and unveil them in an open forum.
Col. Jane Crichton of U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) also said that her commander and
the South Korean chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) could hold a joint
press meeting to voice their support for the changing status of U.S. troops here.
About 28,500 U.S. soldiers are stationed in South Korea as a deterrent against
North Korea -- a legacy of the 1950-53 Korean War that ended in a truce instead
of a formal peace treaty. Hoping to improve the quality of their lives here, the
U.S. announced last month its troops here will be allowed to extend their tours
up to three years and bring their families beginning this year.
"For us right now, working at tour normalization is a top priority," Crichton
said Wednesday night, speaking on the sidelines of a South Korea-U.S. friendship
gathering in Seoul.
Over 80 percent of U.S. troops are serving one-year tours unaccompanied by their
families on the peninsula, considered a war zone. USFK commander Gen. Walter
Sharp said in a round-table meeting with journalists last month that the new
policy will help strengthen the combined defense capabilities against North
Korea.
"Maybe we can have both General Sharp and General Kim (Tae-young) of the JCS come
together and have a similar sort of thing," Crichton said, hoping to expand the
December meeting to discuss how South Korea could play a supporting role in the
full implementation of the tour extension.
Crichton said Sharp's priorities remain the same, "which is strengthen the
alliance and quality of life, and be prepared to fight and win tonight," and
indicated the allies can benefit from integrating their military priorities and
airing them in public.
"Ready to fight tonight" is a common expression used to refer to military
preparedness.
"The combined, or ROK and U.S. priorities are something that we need to address
together," she said, adding the two sides could "present them in a public forum."
ROK stands for the Republic of Korea, South Korea's official name.
samkim@yna.co.kr
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