U.S. troops in S. Korea may be redeployed

SEOUL, Nov. 20 (UPI) -- Some U.S. troops stationed in South Korea likely will be re-deployed to Afghanistan, U.S. President Barack Obama said while in the Asian country.

Obama's comment was made Thursday when he spoke to U.S. troops at Osan Air Base at the end of his eight-day Asian trip, South Korean Yonhap News Agency reported. In October, U.S. Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the Pentagon could deploy U.S. service members in South Korea temporarily to the Middle East.

"The story of your service goes beyond this peninsula," Obama told the troops, noting some had already served in Afghanistan and "(others) among you will deploy yet again."

Thousands of U.S. troops were sent from the 2nd Infantry Division in South Korea to Iraq in 2004 to augment U.S. operations in the Middle Eastern country through rotation.

Observers said Obama's remarks could indicate the need for "strategic flexibility" for U.S. troops stationed in South Korea to rotate to hot spots elsewhere, The Korea Times reported. Strategic flexibility is aimed at changing the mission of U.S. forces abroad from defending host nations to rapid deployment so troops can be sent elsewhere quickly when needed.

"Such a rotation is normal in other countries where U.S. troops are stationed," a South Korea official the official told The Korea Times, "so South Korea should not be an exception as long as the tour normalization plan is settled in the coming years."