New U.S. Army headquarters to open next week in South Korea

Accra, June 21, (UPI/GNA) – U.S. Forces in
South Korea will leave its longtime base in central part of Seoul to a new
headquarters, 70 kilometers south of the capital city next week.

U.S. Forces Korea will hold an opening
ceremony at its new Camp Humphreys in the city of Pyeongtaek on June 29,
attended by U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis, according to defense
sources, Yonhap reported.

The Eighth U.S. Army, which had been based in
the Yongsan Garrison, moved to Camp Humphreys last year. U.S. Forces opened its
base in Yongsan, central Seoul, in August 1945.

The plan for relocation was agreed in 2004
between South Korea and the United States to combine scattered U.S. military
bases across the country. Other key units in northern part of the country have
already relocated to Pyeongtaek.

Mattis will also hold a meeting with South
Korean Defense Minister on June 28, according to South Korean Ministry of
Defense on Thursday.

“U.S. Secretary of Defense Mattis will
visit Korea in the afternoon on June 28 following his visit to China to hold a
meeting with the South Korean Defense Minister. They expect to discuss various
inter-Korean issues related to follow-up measures of the U.S.-North Korea
Summit,” said Defense Ministry Spokesperson Choi Hyun-soo said in a press
briefing Thursday.

GNA