The United States began to relocate about 3,600 soldiers from South Korea to Iraq on Wednesday, according to the military newspaper Stars and Stripes. The transfers would be completed by the beginning of next week, the report said, citing military officials in South Korea. The first contingent of the 3,600 strong brigade of the 2. Infantry Division had left for Kuwait on Monday in order to collect tanks and other equipment for their mission in Iraq. In total 16 chartered flights for 300 soldiers each had been arranged to leave South Korea. Meanwhile, it was still unknown where in Iraq the soldiers would be stationed. The transfer is regarded as the first step of U.S. plans to reduce its military presence on the Korean peninsula. Washington had announced in June that it would cut troop levels there from currently 37,500 by one third, or 12,500 soldiers by the end of 2005. Washington's plans had prompted South Korean fears that security on the divided peninsula might be jeopardized as a result. The U.S. troops had been stationed in South Korea to deter any possible aggression from North Korea.
