New US commander to SKorea visits Panmunjom

(4 Jun 2008) SHOTLIST

1. Wide view of North Korean flag pole as seen across the Military Demarcation Line from South Korea
2. Mid of North Korean flag viewed from South Korea
3. United States Army Lieutenant General Walter L Sharp walking with US Army and South Korean officers
4. Sharp talking to officers at the nearest guard post in South Korea to the North
5. Close-up of Sharp
6. View from South Korea of buildings inside North Korea
7. View from South Korea of North Korean farmers working on land
8. View from South Korea of buildings at inter-Korean industrial complex in North Korea's border Gaesung city
9. Sign above building indicating truce village of Panmunjom, inside the demilitarised zone that divides South and North Korea
10. Sharp walking with soldiers
11. Sharp and South Korean officer
12. Mid of North Korean soldiers marching in the Panmunjom joint security area
13. North Korean soldier looking through binoculars
14. Various of Sharp
15. Three North Korean soldiers and one South Korean soldier looking into the military armistice committee meeting room
16. Wide of Sharp with officers inside meeting room
17. Three North Korean soldiers looking at meeting through exterior window
18. Mid of Sharp
19. Wide exterior of Panmunjom
20. Sharp facing the North as North Korean soldier takes pictures of him
21. Mid of North Korean soldiers
22. Mid of Sharp leaving
23. Sign, reading (Korean and English): "Military Demarcation Line"
24. Various of Sharp walking with fellow officers

STORYLINE

The United States' new commander of US forces in South Korea, Army Lieutenant General Walter L Sharp, visited the inter-Korean border area and the truce village of Panmunjom, for the first time on Wednesday.

Panmunjom lies inside the demilitarised zone dividing South and North Korea.

Sharp walked around the area with fellow officers, and visited the nearest guard post in South Korea to the North.

Sharp's visit comes on just the second day as his post as new US Army commander in South Korea - he took over the role on Tuesday.

He has previously served in the Pentagon.

Sharp will also head the United Nations command and the combined US-South Korean forces command.

The US stations about 28,500 troops in South Korea to deter aggression from North Korea.

Sharp's new posting comes as South Korea and the US plan key changes to their military relations.

Under former President Roh Moo-hyun, South Korea agreed to retake wartime operational control of its 680 thousand-member military from the US.

But the plan stoked security concerns among many South Koreans, who argue the move is premature due to the perceived persistent threat from nuclear-armed North Korea.

Both US and South Korean reaffirmed they would push to complete the planned transition on April 17, 2012 as scheduled, according to the South Korean Defence Ministry statement.

The US took full operational control of the South Korean military shortly after the Korean War broke out in 1950.

South Korea took back peacetime control in 1994 but wartime operational control still lies in the hands of the chief of US troops there.

The US had previously wanted to reduce troops levels in South Korea to 25-thousand troops by the end of this year under a broader global troop realignment plan.

But after summit talks in April, US President, George W. Bush and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak announced the two countries will maintain the current US troops strength in South Korea.

Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork
Twitter:   / ap_archive  
Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​
Instagram:   / apnews  


You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...