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Gov't to Hold Talks with Pyeongtaek Protestors

News2006-05-18

The government will resume talks with residents of Pyeongtaek city on the planned relocation of the U.S. army headquarters in Seoul.

A government task force under the prime minister’s office proposed Wednesday to hold a meeting Thursday with a residents’ group opposing the relocation.

The residents reportedly agreed on the need for talks but did not give an official response.

Task force officials say they will go to Pyeongtaek City Hall Thursday morning as planned to talk with anyone who shows up for the meeting, no matter how few they may be.

If the talks are realized, officials will discuss the second phase construction of new homes and farmlands for evicted residents, and benefits in housing costs and additional compensation for needier people.

A defense ministry official and acting Pyeongtaek mayor will also attend the meeting.

More than a dozen anti-U.S. protestors opposed to the relocation were arrested and hundreds injured after two days of violent clashes with police and soldiers earlier this month in the village of Daechuri.

Under a 2004 bilateral accord, the government agreed to move the U.S. forces’ main headquarters out of Seoul to Pyeongtaek by 2008.

Some 30-thousand American troops are stationed in the country.

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