U.S. generals in S. Korea on familiarization program

SEOUL, Oct. 20 (Yonhap) -- A group of freshly promoted U.S. military generals are on a visit to South Korea where combined forces of South Korea and the United States are facing over 1 million North Korean troops across the world's most heavily fortified border, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said Monday.

The group, consisting of 14 recently promoted brigadier generals, arrived here
Sunday for a four-day visit that includes a trip to the truce village of
Panmunjom inside the demilitarized zone, which divides the two Koreas, the JCS
said.
The U.S. generals, known as the Capstone Group, are set to meet with the
country's JCS chief Gen. Kim Tae-young Tuesday.
"JCS Chairman Kim Tae-young will host a discussion session and a welcome dinner
for the Capstone Group and exchange views on the future of the South Korea-U.S.
alliance and security conditions in Northeast Asia and in North Korea," the JCS
said in a press release.
The group will also visit the South Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command before
leaving Wednesday for the next leg of their four-nation tour that will also take
it to Mongolia, Vietnam and Indonesia, in that order.
The United States has been running the familiarization program for its new
general-grade officers since 1982 in various parts of the world, including
Europe, according to JCS officials.
Some 1,070 U.S. generals have visited South Korea on the program since it was
first initiated in Asia in 1985, they said.
Some 28,500 U.S. troops are currently stationed here as a deterrent against
possible North Korean hostilities.
The divided Koreas technically remain at war as the 1950-53 Korean War ended only
with a ceasefire, not a peace agreement.
bdk@yna.co.kr
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