The two Koreas and the US.

North Korea finally admits it has nukes. North Korea walked out of the 6 party talks concerning its nuke program stating that they want to meet one on one with the US. A few years ago the South Koreans wanted the US to pack up and leave. South Korea has an army of 1 million troops give or take with all of the modern military gear that the US has sold it. The South Korean economy is humming along and they can afford to protect themselves. I believe that the US being in the region is hindering a solution to the problem. If the US leaves it will force the two Koreans to talk with each other. We have accomplished what we wanted to do in South Korea; we protected the South till they could protect themselves.

I believe the US should pull out of the entire region (including Japan). The troops we have in the region can be better utilized in our war on terrorism. It is high time to let the Asians solve their own problems.

The United States-South Korean defence agreed that the US would withdraw its esitmated 36,000 deployed there by 1/3 withen a year at the end of june last year. The biggest such reduction since 1992 (7,000)

What they don't tell you is that all this is doing is reducing the footprint of US forces. There are still U-2s, and otehr improvements in the defence capability of U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) can be accomplished by bringing to bear such systems as Patriot PAC-3 surface-to-air missiles for air defence, the army's new Stryker brigade, the navy's High-Speed Vessel, and the forward-deployment of additional air and naval assets to Hawaii and Guam. Washington is also planning an $11 billion investment in some additional 150 military capabilities over the next four years that will enhance defence against any North Korean attack.

The US needs to be there in order to be a deterreant and stabilize the area.