United States to deploy additional 800 soldiers with M1A2 tanks Bradley AIFV in South Korea 0801142

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Defence & Security News - United States
 
 
Wednesday, January 8, 2014 09:28 AM
 
United States to deploy additional 800 soldiers with M1A2 tanks and Bradley AIFV in South Korea.
The United States is to deploy more troops and heavy tanks in South Korea as part of a military rebalance at a time of raised tensions on the Korean peninsula. A total, of 800 soldiers, forty M1A2 Abrams main battle tanks and forty Bradley fighting vehicles will be deployed to South Korea.
     

The United States has 28,000 troops based in South Korea, which has remained technically at war with Communist North Korea since the 1950-1953 Korean conflict ended in stalemate.
     

The battalion of troops and M1A2 tanks and about 40 Bradley fighting vehicles from the 1st U.S. Cavalry Division based at Fort Hood, Texas, will begin a nine-month deployment in South Korea on February 1.

Commenting on the deployment, John Kerry, the US secretary of state, said: "The United States and the Republic of Korea stand very firmly united, without an inch of daylight between us, not a sliver of daylight, on the subject of opposition to North Korea's destabilising nuclear and ballistic missile programmes and proliferation activities.

Army Colonel Steve Warren said: "This addition is part of the rebalance to the Pacific. It's been long planned and is part of our enduring commitment to security on the Korean peninsula.

U.S. President Barack Obama announced a strategic rebalancing of U.S. priorities toward the Pacific in late 2011 while ending the direct U.S. military involvement in Iraq and announcing plans to wind down the long U.S. engagement in Afghanistan.