SEOUL — A report released this week by South Korea’s Defense Ministry says the United States would bring 690,000 troops here if war broke out on the peninsula, South Korean defense officials confirmed Friday.

The newly released white paper also said the U.S. military would send 160 warships and 2,000 planes, based on an arrangement reached with U.S. Forces Korea last year, according to the Defense Ministry’s press office.

USFK officials declined to comment on the numbers.

“As a matter of policy we do not discuss the specifics of operational plans,” Maj. Brodrick J. Bailey said in a written statement. “The U.S. is committed to the security and defense of the Republic of Korea and maintains an effective deterrence capability against any aggression toward the ROK.”

Foster gates to close

CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa — Two heavily used gates on the Kishaba Housing side of this base will be closed for several weeks in February for the installation of security devices.

Gate One, leading to the Marine Headquarters building from Highway 330, will be closed from 7 a.m. Monday to 6 a.m. Feb. 14, said Gregory Morgan, the installation services officer. When that work is finished, Gate Two-C, known locally as the McDonald’s Gate, also off Highway 330, will be closed Feb. 14-21.

While work is being done at those gates, the back gate to the area off Highway 81, known as the Sergeant Major Gate, will be open 24 hours a day, Morgan said.

Also, to cut down on the time it takes children from the New Sada Housing Area to walk to school, the pedestrian gate on Highway 330, directly across from Kubasaki High School, will be open during school hours, Morgan said.

That gate will remain closed to vehicle traffic.

Precautionary landing

A C-12 aircraft assigned to Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, made an emergency landing Thursday at Niigata Airport after its inner windshield cracked, a Navy spokeswoman said.

The plane will remain in Niigata, about 185 miles northeast of Tokyo, until a new windshield arrives. The flight crew was en route to Kadena on Friday afternoon, said Navy spokeswoman Sheryl Kohatsu.

“Everybody was safe,” Kohatsu said. “This was just a precautionary landing.”

The crack occurred on the pilot’s side of the windshield, but details on the size, depth and cause of the crack were not immediately available.

Sailor found dead

Military police are investigating the death of a sailor found early Friday morning.

Seaman Adam J. Palecco, a dental technician with the 3rd Force Service Support Group, was found dead about 12:12 a.m. on Camp Hansen, according to a Consolidated Marine Corps Public Affairs press release.

According to Staff Sgt. Suki Forbes, media relations chief, details surrounding the death, including the condition of the sailor’s body or where it was found on Camp Hansen, remained sketchy late Friday.

“Military police responded and Palecco was transported to U.S. Naval Hospital Okinawa by a local ambulance,” the press release stated. “He was pronounced dead at 1:29 a.m. Feb. 4, according to the medical examiner.”

The Naval Criminal Investigation Service is investigating the circumstances surrounding the death, Forbes said.

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