Seoul: US ends 70 yrs of military presence

The US formally ended seven decades of military presence in South Korea’s capital on Friday with a ceremony to mark the opening of a new headquarters farther from North Korean artillery range.

The command’s move to Camp Humphreys, about 70km south of Seoul, comes amid a fledgling detente on the Korean Peninsula, though the relocation was planned long before that. Most troops have already transferred to the new location.

The US military had been headquartered in Seoul’s central Yongsan neighbourhood since American troops first arrived at the end of World War 2. The Yongsan Garrison was a symbol of the US-South Korea alliance but its occupation of prime real estate was also a source of friction.

Located in the city of Pyeongtaek and close to a US air field, the new 3,510-acre command cost $11 billion to build and is the largest overseas US base. South Korea has paid about 90% of the cost.

“This headquarters’ building, within the headquarters’ complex that surrounds it, represents the significant investment in the long-term presence of US forces in Korea,” Gen Vincent Brooks, the commander of US Forces Korea, said. “US Forces Korea will remain the living proof of the American commitment to the alliance.”

The relocation is part of a broad US plan to realign its 28,500 troops and their bases in South Korea into two major hubs: one in Pyeongtaek and the other in the city of Daegu. US officials say they want to move out of highly populated areas and improve efficiency and military readiness.AP