Accord to Move U.S. Bases Out of Seoul Is Reported

The United States and South Korea have agreed in principle to move U.S. military installations from the center of the South Korean capital to help ease anti-American sentiment, government officials said Friday.

Meanwhile, South Korean President Roh Tae Woo threatened to crack down on student demonstrations to safeguard the Summer Olympics, which are scheduled to begin Sept. 17. Radicals on six college campuses hurled firebombs and rocks at police, who responded with rounds of tear gas.

“Negotiations have been under way to relocate U.S. military headquarters out of Seoul” since last February, a government official said.

The official said the two countries still need to discuss details of moving costs, which may run into billions of dollars.

A U.S. military spokesman in Seoul said his command was unaware of the planned relocation.

Home of U.S. Forces

The military compound in Seoul, occupying 699 acres of land, is the home of the headquarters of U.S. Forces, the 8th U.S. Army, the Combined ROK (Republic of Korea)-U.S. Forces Command and the U.S. Naval Headquarters in South Korea.

Also inside the compound are housing for some U.S. diplomats and military personnel, an army radio and television station and a number of facilities, including an 18-hole golf course, military schools and commissaries.

The total number of military and civilian personnel residing in the compound is estimated at 6,000, according to U.S. military officials here. About 42,000 U.S. troops are stationed in South Korea under a mutual defense treaty signed in 1954.

Anti-U.S. sentiment is high in South Korea among radical college students who hold the United States responsible for the partition of the Korean Peninsula at the end of World War II in 1945. They demand the withdrawal of all American troops in South Korea.

Meanwhile, Roh told a meeting of officials reviewing preparations for the Summer Games that “an eruption of demonstrations involving firebombs, stones and tear gas during the Olympics would disrupt the Olympics, and our nation would become an object of worldwide scorn.”

He accused radical students of trying to overthrow the government and siding with North Korea’s demand to be co-host of the Games.

“It is deplorable that a small number of dissidents and radical students are hurting a successful Olympic mood with demonstrations and calls for a joint Olympics,” Roh said.

He appealed to opposition leaders Kim Dae Jung and Kim Young Sam, who attended the briefing, to dissuade radical students from the march and violent protests. The opposition promised support for the Olympics but stressed the need for dialogue between the government and student leaders.

Roh’s remarks came as about 6,000 radical students from 22 universities held rallies or staged violent street demonstrations in Seoul and six provincial cities, protesting a police blockade of a march to North Korea for unification talks. The march is planned for Monday.

Riot police fired tear gas to drive students back at six campuses. Witnesses reported some arrests and injuries, but police declined to provide any figures.