European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 29, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                South korean army units during the annual  korean a team spirit Quot Maneu vers near Seoul. Defending South Korea what effects will . Cutbacks have korean military combined intelligence reports on North and South korean troop strength All agree the North korean forces Are larger. South korean forces Active 649,500 missiles 210 Reserve 4,600,000 air Force ground personnel personnel 40,000 575,000 bombers 0 infantry divisions 21 Jet fighters 476 mechanized Navy personnel divisions 2 34,500 tanks 1,500 fighting ships 182 Field artillery 4,000 submarines 0 a Lee Cervera sources South korean ministry of defense . Army and others editor s note forty years ago on june 25, communist North Korea invaded South Korea to begin a three year War that would Cost thousands of american lives and billions of dollars in Aid. And if the cold War has ended in Eastern Europe the two Korea today remain armed Camps. Now the United states is cutting Back its troops and closing three air bases in South Korea leaving Many wondering what effect that will have on the balance of Power. By Kelly Smith Tunney associated press once a month the huge sprawling City of Seoul South Korea comes to a standstill As shrieking sirens and loudspeakers warn 10 million citizens to seek cover in air raid shelters. For 20 minutes the frenzied economic and political capital of South Korea one of the world s largest cities is hushed. The Only movement along wide boulevards and narrow alleys Are Green army jeeps on surveillance patrols checking to be certain citizens complied. Thirty Miles North beyond barbed wire and Concrete bunkers lies the most heavily fortified Border in the world and one of the last frontiers of the cold War a the demilitarized zone separating South and North Korea while Eastern Europe celebrates the collapse of communism and the easing of East West tensions the korean Peninsula continues an arms buildup with virtually no signs of detente Between the capitalist South and the communist North. For South Korea Security and War preparedness Are no. 1 National priorities and the monthly air raid drills Are symbolic of the times. In both Korea billions of dollars a year Are spent on armies and weapons. Quot nothing remotely comparable to events in Eastern Europe is happening in North Korea Quot says . Ambassador Donald p. Gregg. Quot if the hallmark of South Korea is Progress the hallmark of the North is  despite this grim evaluation the United states primary sponsor and chief ally of South Korea for 40 years is making plans to reduce its 43,000 forces. New economic realities Are forcing alterations in the two nations relationship. To most South koreans the special brotherhood with the United states has had a single purpose a to deter or defeat a new invasion from the North. Many americans see wider economic issues and Point to a $4.7 billion Trade imbalance and the current deployment of troops As altruism their country can ill afford. Restructuring of delicate bilateral alliances poses Tough questions for those trying to protect american interests As Well As preserve peace and stability. Can South Korea which has Cost americans dearly in blood and treasure become self reliant As . Troops Are withdrawn for its part South Korea faces a critical turning Point in its defense posture As it enhances its military capabilities and looks to develop new and Independent thinking for the next Century. Among factors influencing the United states and South Korea Are these a communist North Korea has More soldiers More tanks More artillery pieces and More planes than the South and Many analysts say it will hold a military advantage for at least the next five years. A North Korea is widely believed to be nearing capability to develop a nuclear weapons programs and it reportedly has agreements to sell arms in the Middle East. A Northeast Asia is unique in that it engages the vital interests of four of the world s great Powers a the United states the soviet Union Japan and China. Strategically . Policy has been that no single nation or coalition of nations should control the resources and people of the Region. A despite All the hostility and suspicion Between the two Korea and All the Energy that has been invested in the construction of separate and competitive societies koreans continue to cherish the Hope a however Bleak a of National unification. The ideological and civil War that began in 1950 continued on Page 14 sunday april 29, 1990 the stars and stripes a a a Page 13