North's Kim said U.S. troops should stay in Korea: paper

0 Comments | Asian Political News, August 14, 2000

TOKYO, Aug. 9 Kyodo

North Korean leader Kim Jong Il told South Korean President Kim Dae Jung at their June 13-15 summit that U.S. forces stationed in South Korea should remain on the Korean Peninsula after its reunification, a Japanese newspaper reported Wednesday.

Kim Jong Il said at the talks that U.S. forces should stay to maintain peace on the peninsula after the two Koreas reunite, the Asahi Shimbun quoted senior South Korean officials as saying.

During the talks June 14 in Pyongyang, Kim Dae Jung said U.S. forces stationed in South Korea help maintain peace and stability in East Asia, and asked Kim Jong Il, ''How would the region keep the balance of power if the U.S. forces left the peninsula?''

Kim Yong Sun, secretary of the North's Workers Party of Korea, insisted U.S. forces must withdraw from the peninsula, the daily said.

However, the North Korean leader told Kim Yong Sun to drop his remarks, asking him what problems would occur should U.S. forces stay on the peninsula.

''Whatever I try to do, my subordinates voice opposition like this. The military has probably the same idea about the U.S. forces as Kim Yong Sun,'' Kim Jong Il was quoted by the officials as telling the president.

When Kim Dae Jung pointed out that the North always demands the withdrawal of U.S. forces from the peninsula through its media, Kim Jong Il said such calls are made primarily for domestic purposes, according to the Asahi.

''Our military functions well partly because of tensions (with U.S. forces). So I don't want you to worry too much about it,'' the paper quoted Kim Jong Il as telling Kim Dae Jung.

A senior South Korean official told the Asahi that the North Korean leader wants U.S. forces to stay in South Korea because he is cautious over the possibility of attack by the South as well as Japan's military buildup and China's growing military strength.