President Visits Soldiers Near Demilitarized Zone
After warning North Korea to forsake nuclear weapons, President Clinton showed off American military power in a pre-Thanksgiving visit today with troops on watch near the world’s most heavily guarded border.
Helicoptering to a training center eight miles from the tense demilitarized zone, the president shook hands with crews of M-1 tanks, Bradley fighting vehicles and South Korean battle tanks. He pinned a promotion on a private and led troops in singing happy birthday to a sergeant major.
Afterward, he joined soldiers for lunch featuring MREs--the dreaded “meals ready to eat.”
Clinton’s tour of the rugged South Korean training center on a sunny but chilly day was intended to underscore the U.S. security commitment to South Korea in the face of any challenge from the Communist North.
He also planned to address American troops later at Osan Air Base from a U-2 spy plane hangar.
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