US defence chief Chuck Hagel tours Korean DMZ, watched by the North
US Secretary of Defence Chuck Hagel toured the Korean demilitarised zone yesterday, under the watchful eye of North Korean soldiers, and said the Pentagon had no plan to reduce its 28,500-member force in the South despite budget constraints.
US Secretary of Defence Chuck Hagel toured the Korean demilitarised zone yesterday, under the watchful eye of North Korean soldiers, and said the Pentagon had no plan to reduce its 28,500-member force in the South despite budget constraints.
"This is probably the only place in the world where we have always a risk of confrontation," Hagel said after touring a single-storey building with a corrugated metal roof where talks are held with North Koreans on Conference Row in the truce village of Panmunjom.
As Hagel walked through the building, which spans the military demarcation line between North and South, two North Korean soldiers peered through the windows on the northern side filming his movements.
"There's no margin of error up here," Hagel said.
He also visited a hilltop observation post, where he looked across a valley into North Korea and received a briefing from South Korean Defence Minister Kim Kwan-jin.
Hagel's visit came on the first full day of a four-day trip to South Korea to celebrate the 60th anniversary of a mutual security alliance.
