Government Orders Agent Orange Probe

South Korea’s defense minister ordered an inquiry into a report that the U.S. military used Agent Orange and other toxic defoliants along the border with North Korea in the late 1960s. The report by SBS-TV in Seoul on Monday night quoted declassified U.S. documents. A spokeswoman for the U.S. military said officials were looking into the matter. Copies of the documents indicate that the U.S. mobilized thousands of South Koreans to spray Agent Orange and two other herbicides to improve observation along the densely foliated border. The use of Agent Orange--which can cause cancer and birth defects--has prompted lawsuits from veterans of several countries, including South Koreans who fought alongside Americans in the Vietnam War.