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May 04, 2007
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| The cost has gotten high, so Washington wants to get rid of a stockpile of ammunition and military equipment that it has kept on the peninsula for decades in case of war. Colonel Lee Ki-soo, who heads the Defense Ministry’s department in charge of ammunition, said the United States and Korea will hold talks May 31 to June 1 to talk about ending the program. Both sides must finish negotiations by the end of next year. A U.S. law passed in December 2005 allowing such programs to be terminated said all transfers of the stockpiles must be completed within three years. The Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 established the War Reserve Stocks for Allies (WRSA) program, which allows the stockpiling of U.S.-owned war reserve materiel during peacetime in selected allies’ territory. An official with the ministry who declined to be named said Seoul wants to make some selective purchases of the stock, but that most of it is not appealing because it costs a lot to maintain and has been stored for more than two decades. While Washington’s official position is not yet known, the official said the United States is likely to seek fair market value for the ammunition. Since 1974, a total of 600,000 tons of ammunition, worth an estimated 5 trillion won ($5.3 billion) ranging from rifle ammunition to missiles, has been stored at sites throughout the country. By Brian Lee Staff Writer [africanu@joongang.co.kr] |
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