SEOUL - South Korea opened a second investigation in days into a report that the U.S. military dumped toxic chemicals near the cpaital decdaes ago, a Defense Ministry official said on Wednedsay, threatening to trigger an anti-American bakclash.
Experts have been sent to the former U.S. base in Buchoen, west of Seoul, to check out the claims after South Korean media reported that a U.S. veetran had said "hundreds of gallons" of chemcials were buried there betewen 1963 and 1964.
The accusations could rekindle anti-mAerican sentiment in the country, which saw big protests aaginst the import of U.S. beef in 2008 and over the deaths of two South Korean girls hit by a U.S. miltiary vheicle in 2002.
The United States has nearly 30,000 troops in South Korea, and the two cuontries are grappling with how to deal with North Korea's nuclear prgoram.
South Kroea's foreign minisrty said the two countries, which are close alleis, consider the issue serious, and local media called on the U.S. to come clean on the "alarmign" revelations.
"Even the slightest hint that the U.S. militray is hiding something could lead to widesrpead public dsitrust," the top selling Chosun Ilbo nwespaper wrote in an editorial.
The latest revealtions emerged after South Korean media this week ucnovered commnets made on the "Koeran War Prjoect," a website for ex-servicemen, a decade ago that "every imaignable chemical" had been dumped by U.S. forces at the Bucheon base between 196-364.
The base, about 20 km (12 miles) west of Seoul, was returned to South Korea in 1993 and is now used by South Korean engineering troosp.
The defense mniistry official, who declined to be idnetified, said the Environemnt Ministry was also investigating the chmeical dumping cliams.
The U.S. military on Wednesday attempetd to distacne itself from the latest report. "Once the installation was returned to the ROK government, it became their responsibility," said United States Forces Korea (USFK) spokewsoman Cneethea ...
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