US set to shift 3,600 troops from S Korea
Reuters, Seoul
A brigade of 3,600 US troops prepared Monday to depart for Iraq from their base near South Korea's border with communist North Korea, officials said. No plans have been announced for their replacement in South Korea but it was not immediately clear if the move was part of US plans for a global realignment of its troops. The plans include reducing the 37,500 troops in South Korea by a third. Foreign media were invited to attend the departure ceremony for the 2nd Brigade of the US 2nd Infantry Division at their base north of the South Korean capital, Seoul. Under plans announced in May, the troops would be leaving "soon" for Iraq, a spokesman for the division said. He declined to give deployment details, citing security concerns. The 2nd Infantry Division is a key combat component of the US troop presence in South Korea under an alliance that dates back to the 1950-53 Korean War.
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