Bosworth speaks at a bull session

U.S. Ambassador Stephen Bosworth said on the 28th that should the North Korean threat decline in the peninsula, the level of military presence will be re-established through an open dialogue with the South Korean government. However, he cautioned that such talks for the reduction of the U.S. Forces Korea should not precede actual decline of the North Korean threat.

Speaking at a bull session at the VIP dining room of the Parliamentary Building and organized by the parliamentary investigative committee, the Peaceful Unification Forum co-chaired by Chung Yong-Taek and Lee Chang-Bok, the U.S. Ambassador commented that the real physical threat has not yet abated. He added that it would be advisable to follow the advice of various South Korean leaders and maintain the current status of the military alliance between the U.S. and South Korea for the continued deterrence of the North`s aggression.

In connection to the Status of Force Agreement revision talks set to begin next week, Ambassador Bosworth pledged that the U.S. would be "open-minded" in issues such as the criminal jurisdictional rights as well as the environmental and labor issues.

As for the report on the conditional deferment of the North`s missile research program, the Ambassador posited that as the North has been conducting the research program for the past 10 years, North Korea will most likely ask for considerable compensation for their deferment.