US, SK to probe 'Agent Orange' dumping claims
Source: Agencies |
May 23, 2011, Monday
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Print Edition
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SOUTH Korea said yesterday it has agreed with the United States military to jointly investigate claims made by US veterans that they helped bury the toxic chemical defoliant Agent Orange at a US army base in South Korea about three decades ago.
The issue could potentially rekindle anti-American sentiment in the country, which saw massive protests against the import of US beef in 2008 and over the deaths of two South Korean girls in an incident allegedly involving US soldiers in 2002.
The United States has nearly 30,000 troops stationed in South Korea, and the countries are currently grappling with how to deal with North Korea's nuclear programme.
"South Korea and the United States agreed to proceed with a joint probe (into the case) as soon as possible for the quick and transparent resolution of the issue," Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik's Office said in a statement yesterday.
The controversy erupted last week, when South Korean media reported that US veterans told US television station KPHO-TV that they were ordered to dump the herbicide at Camp Carroll, in the southeastern part of South Korea, in the late 1970s.
The television station said the "toxic herbicide that was used to wipe out the jungles during the Vietnamese War," was used years later around demilitarized zones in Korea, which was divided after the 1950-1953 Korean War.
The South Korean government said it had formed a task force on Friday to address the issue and had been investigating the area around Camp Carroll, located in North Gyeongsang Province.
The United States Forces Korea said in a statement on Friday that: "An on-going review of records has not revealed evidence of the movement or storage of Agent Orange at Camp Carroll ..."
The issue could potentially rekindle anti-American sentiment in the country, which saw massive protests against the import of US beef in 2008 and over the deaths of two South Korean girls in an incident allegedly involving US soldiers in 2002.
The United States has nearly 30,000 troops stationed in South Korea, and the countries are currently grappling with how to deal with North Korea's nuclear programme.
"South Korea and the United States agreed to proceed with a joint probe (into the case) as soon as possible for the quick and transparent resolution of the issue," Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik's Office said in a statement yesterday.
The controversy erupted last week, when South Korean media reported that US veterans told US television station KPHO-TV that they were ordered to dump the herbicide at Camp Carroll, in the southeastern part of South Korea, in the late 1970s.
The television station said the "toxic herbicide that was used to wipe out the jungles during the Vietnamese War," was used years later around demilitarized zones in Korea, which was divided after the 1950-1953 Korean War.
The South Korean government said it had formed a task force on Friday to address the issue and had been investigating the area around Camp Carroll, located in North Gyeongsang Province.
The United States Forces Korea said in a statement on Friday that: "An on-going review of records has not revealed evidence of the movement or storage of Agent Orange at Camp Carroll ..."
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