Clinton to visit S. Korea-U.S. combined forces command: official

By Sam Kim
SEOUL, Feb. 18 (Yonhap) -- U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will visit the
joint South Korea-U.S. military command here this week when she makes her two-day
trip to the Asian ally, an official said Wednesday.
The Friday visit to the Combined Forces Command (CFC) will come as she warns
during her four-nation Asian trip that North Korea should not test-fire what
appears to be a long-range ballistic missile.
Clinton will meet with top CFC commanders, including Gen. Walter Sharp of the
U.S. Forces Korea, and discuss issues concerning the decades-old military
alliance, Kim Yong-kyu, a CFC official, said.
About 28,500 U.S. troops are stationed in South Korea as a deterrent against
North Korea -- a legacy of the 1950-53 Korean War that ended in a truce rather
than a peace treaty.
South Korea plans to take back the wartime control of its 660,000 troops from the
U.S. in 2012, in what will be one of the most conspicuous changes in their
alliance since the peacetime control was returned in 1994.
Clinton will arrive in South Korea from Indonesia Thursday night, according to
South Korean officials. She began her first overseas trip in her post by visiting
Japan on Monday and will depart for China on Friday evening.
U.S. and South Korean officials say North Korea may be assembling equipment at a
launch site on its east coast to prepare a missile believed to be capable of
reaching U.S. territory.
Clinton warned Tuesday in Japan a missile test would not help move forward
efforts to improve ties between the communist country and her country. The two
sides also have yet to sign a peace agreement to formally end the Korean War.
samkim@yna.co.kr
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