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Apaches in S. Korea move to Iraq, Afghanistan

SEOUL, South Korea — The United States will withdraw 20 Apache attack helicopters from South Korea for redeployment in Iraq and Afghanistan next year, the U.S. military said Sunday.

The U.S. has notified South Korea of its plan to re-station one of the two Apache battalions in South Korea to make the unit available for rotational deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan, the U.S. military command in Seoul said in a statement.

There are 20 helicopters in each Apache battalion, according to U.S. military spokesman Kim Yong-kyu.

It was not immediately clear when the Apaches would be withdrawn from South Korea. The U.S. plans to send 12 A-10 attack aircraft and two MH-53 helicopters to South Korea next March to temporarily replace the departing Apaches, Kim said.

“The U.S. remains fully committed to the defense of the Republic of Korea and the overall security and stability of the region,” the statement quoted Lt. Gen. Joseph Fil, chief of the 8th U.S. Army in South Korea, as saying.

The U.S. has about 28,500 troops in South Korea as deterrence against communist North Korea. Technically, the two Koreas are still at war, because their 1950-53 Korean War ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty.