President Bush to sign measure for looser restrictions on arms sales to South Korea

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President Bush to sign measure for looser restrictions on arms sales to South Korea
By Leo Shane III, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Thursday, October 9, 2008

WASHINGTON — U.S. lawmakers have loosened restrictions on military arms sales to South Korea, a largely symbolic move that labels the country a strategic ally on par with Japan and Australia.

The changes raise the amount of military equipment that can be sold to Korea before an automatic congressional review is triggered, and it mandates faster investigations once those reviews are begun. In addition, the moves are designed to encourage South Korea to give "favorable consideration" to the United States when looking to buy military equipment, according to the legislation.

South Korea has already been designated a major non-NATO ally by the United States and bought more than $6.9 billion in defense equipment through the U.S. foreign military sales program.

But Derek Mitchell, senior fellow for the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said the move is more significant for symbolic reasons than for actual business practicality.

"If Korea needed anything in the past, we would have found a way to get it to them," he said. "This is really to demonstrate that this alliance matters to both sides. For Korea to be considered in elite company sends a signal of how important we think they are."


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=57973