AGREEMENT ON MOVING U.S. ARMY BASES

[Anchor Lead]

Seoul and Washington have agreed to transfer four U.S. army bases to Korea. The move had been postponed for ten years after the bases were closed down. As to the controversial issue of who must pay for the decontamination of the polluted bases, Korea has agreed to shoulder the burden fist, and discuss the issue again with the U.S. later. The two nations have also agreed to begin the transfer of the Yongsan base, more than a decade after the decision was first reached.

[Pkg]

In a meeting of the Status of Forces Agreement Joint Committee, the Korean and U.S. governments agreed to transfer four closed U.S. army bases to Korea immediately. The four bases are: Camps Eagle and Long in Wonju, Gangwon-do Province, Camp Market in Incheon, and the Camp Hovey shooting range in Dongducheon. They were closed down between 2009 and 2011, but their transfer had been postponed because Seoul and Washington failed to narrow their differences on who was responsible for decontamination at the military bases. Seoul says the two sides have agreed to discuss the matter further in the future.

[Soundbite] LIM CHANG-WOO(OFFICE FOR GOVERNMENT POLICY COORDINATION) : "We agreed to the transfer on the condition that we will continue the discussion of responsibility for decontamination, environmental management at the U.S. army bases, and the revision of SOFA documents."

Korea will shoulder the clean-up costs amounting to 110 billion won and discuss the matter with the U.S. later to determine how much Washington should pay. The Korean government added that the transfer procedure of the Yongsan base in downtown Seoul is also set to begin in earnest. The two nations agreed on the transfer of the Yongsan base back in 2003, but it was postponed for more than ten years even after authorities decided to build a park on its site in 2005. Local residents welcomed the announcement of the camps' transfer and expressed hope over how their sites will be used in the future. However, there are concerns over the prospect of the negotiations on the sharing of clean-up costs, as the U.S. never once shouldered them in the past after handing over its army bases to Korea.