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Even as the United States seeks a negotiated settlement to the nuclear standoff with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), the Bush administration has quietly moved an array of high-tech weaponry into the Korean peninsula, a report said Sunday.
The US started moving the weaponry, much of it battle-tested in Iraq and Afghanistan, into the areas south of the demilitarized zone (DMZ) that divides Korean peninsula since the summer, the Los Angeles Times reported.
This was part of a significant restructuring of the 37,000 US troops in the country, the front-page report said.
In return for moving soldiers away from the DMZ, the Pentagon promised Seoul that it would spend 11 billion US dollars to bring in the latest armaments.
One system emblematic of the high-tech transformation is the new Stryker, a medium-weight armored vehicle that is supposed to be light enough to airlift. Stryker brigades are expected to eventually replace some of the conventional tank battalions.
In June, the Pentagon started replacing its Apache helicopters in South Korea with the state-of-the-art AH-64D Apache Longbow. In July, they started bringing in the Patriot advanced capability-3 system, which can protect an area about seven times greater than the original system.
Another weapon, Shadow 200, or a tactical unmanned aerial vehicle, was deployed in September. The Shadow, which can also be outfitted with weapons, can provide real-time aerial reconnaissance.
The Pentagon is also expected to invest in high-speed vessels that would be able to transport troops, equipment and munitions from elsewhere in the region, the report said.
The US military also is expected to bring in joint direct attack munitions, or "smart bombs," which can home in on their targets even when dropped at high altitude or in bad weather, the report said, quoting US officials.
Another expected weapon is the guided bomb unit-28, known as the "bunker buster" for its ability to penetrate targets in underground bunkers.
As the US upgrades its arsenal, the South Koreans are expected to follow suit. Over the next month, they will deploy their first missile capable of reaching the DPRK capital, Pyongyang.
Until two years ago, South Korea was restricted by treaty to shorter-range missiles, but the limits were eased in the aftermath of the DPRK's test-firing of a long-range Taepodong 1 missile over Japan in 1998.
US officials refer to the new additions as "security enhancements" and say they are not incompatible with US President George W. Bush's often-repeated declaration that he would like the North Korean nuclear crisis to be resolved diplomatically, the Times reported.
(Xinhua News Agency December 22, 2003)
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