NOT FORSWEARING (via ef brown)

President Sees 'Progress' on N. Korea: Bush Won't Rule Out Military Action (Dana Milbank and Karen DeYoung, May 15, 2003, Washington Post)

President Bush, meeting yesterday with South Korean President Roh Moo Hyun, announced "good progress" toward a resolution of the standoff over North Korea's nuclear ambitions but would not forswear the possibility of military action to keep the Korean peninsula free of nuclear weapons.

The two leaders, in meetings at the White House, agreed to arrange a plan for restructuring U.S. forces in South Korea that would produce a major consolidation -- and possibly reduction -- of the 36,000 U.S. troops there. The administration agreed to close a major military base near downtown Seoul; the 6,000-strong Yongsan, the focus of much of the anti-American tension in South Korea in the past, will be shuttered at an "early date," the leaders said.

The decision to move ahead with a U.S. military consolidation in South Korea indicated that despite the standoff over North Korea's moves to breach arms agreements and restart its nuclear program, the administration is willing to close bases -- even those near the demilitarized zone. Roh's government had worried that such an action in the face of the North Korean nuclear threat could destabilize South Korea's economy and security.

"We are not going to freeze in place until the nuclear issue is solved, and the South Koreans know that and they agree," a senior Bush official said last night.

Roh had come to Washington with hopes the United States would rule out a military strike and hold off on a reshuffling of its troop presence. The administration did not grant either request but agreed to assurances that it would consult closely with South Korea in all cases. The two leaders issued a joint statement saying that increasing "threats to peace and stability on the peninsula would require consideration of further steps," without specifying steps.

Bush and Roh defused -- at least temporarily -- a disagreement over whether a military strike against North Korea would be contemplated. The administration would not rule out a military attack -- a senior Bush aide said Roh did not make such a request -- but the two leaders expressed "confidence that a peaceful resolution can be achieved." [...]

Roh's meetings with Bush, Vice President Cheney, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and some lawmakers came as Reuters reported from Beijing that a number of North Korean military officials have defected to South Korea and the West. White House press secretary Ari Fleischer said he could not confirm the report, "but it would not be surprising."

The combination of pulling our guys out of harm's way and ruling the military option in would have to worry Kim Jong-Il, eh? No wonder his guys are jumping ship... Posted by Orrin Judd at May 15, 2003 10:45 AM