Along Korean DMZ, G.I.'s Ponder Order to Pull Back

[cstaylor]

Along Korean DMZ, G.I.'s Ponder Order to Pull Back

But Jimmy Chu, the bar's owner, said it would be a disastrous move for him.

Already, bills have piled up at his bar, hit by curfews and temporary base closings caused by demonstrations like the one today. Attended by 300 people, the protest called for the complete withdrawal of American troops, and was marked by scuffles with the police and the burning of an effigy of President Bush.

After cursing the protesters as spoiled kids who have never eaten out of garbage cans the way he did during the Korean War, Mr. Chu, 62, said moving major bases like Red Cloud to the south would cause great economic hardship for little purpose.

"I'd be hurting," he said. Bartenders, landlords and shopkeepers would see their livelihoods destroyed in this city north of Seoul. He estimated that 50,000 people would have to leave the region.

[Taro Toporific]

Along Korean DMZ, G.I.'s Ponder Order to Pull Back

Hell, let the Koreas sort it out on their own. After 50 years of whinging, S. Korea should be united under the control of Lil' Kim.


N.Korea Wants Atom Bomb to Cut Conventional Forces
Mon June 9, 2003 01:20 AM ET
SEOUL (Reuters)- Communist North Korea said on Monday it wanted to have nuclear weapons so it could reduce the size of its huge conventional forces and divert funds into an economy foreign analysts say is close to collapse.

It was the first time Pyongyang had linked its controversial nuclear program to cutting its conventional military and saving money. North Korea has one of the largest armed forces in the world with 1.1 million troops, many of them forward-deployed near the Demilitarized Zone that bisects the Korean peninsula.