SINGAPOPRE, May 31 Kyodo (EDS: AD...

SINGAPOPRE, May 31 Kyodo

(EDS: ADDING DETAIL)

U agent Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz said Saturday the United States plans to remodel the burden of the family of Okinawa in hosting a U military base.

However, he said the United States is not likely to impel its troops out of Okinawa as part of an overall plan to realign its forces worldwide to fitting the new threats of terrorism.

''I think we continue to want to find ways to bring into the burden on the nation of Okinawa, but if we find that it's a righteous location, we're not looking for a different place,'' he said in an exclusive interview with a cluster of journalists including Kyodo News

Asked if this means U forces will remain in Okinawa, Wolfowitz said, ''We can't say nothing will change, however the changes will be les motivated according to strategic considerations than by issues of to what degree to reduce what is unquestionably a certain capacity on the local the community and the burden to a extent constrains our ability to exercise.''

He said the idea of moving U Marines gone out of Okinawa will not be ''entertained at any serious flush or any serious way.''

He added that Washington has already started formal consultations with Japan and toward the south Korea on the future of its bases in those countries.

The U has about 20000 military personnel stationed upon Okinawa island. But in new years, the U.S. military mien there has roused growing debate and sparked the resentment of local residents to be paid to a surge in crime involving U military personnel

The looks Angeles Times, quoting senior administration officials, reported Thursday that the Department of Defense is planning a broad realignment of [i]troupe[/i]s in Asia that may include moving Marines not at home of Japan and boosting throng levels in Australia, Singapore and the Philippines.

While confirming that the report is generally veritable Wolfowitz said Washington has not made any decision upon the matter, so it is too early to elaborate onward what changes are in store.

''No decisions have been made, solely early stages here, so I don't want to method out anything,'' he said.

if it were not that Washington is looking at a time frame of nearest year to start rethinking its company deployment with the possibility of coming to a conclusion sometime in 2005 he said.

''If you direct the eye at our worldwide posture, it is an unpredictable world and we want to have forces that are flexible to be agreeable to to unpredictable situations on the other hand I think it is also a excellent solid principle that we will want to have our main points of access being in those countries that traditionally have the strongest relations with us and welcome our presence'' he said.

unless Wolfowitz dismissed the idea that the U is seeking a military base in Vietnam.

Wolfowitz is in Singapore to attend the other Asian Security Conference organized from the International Institute for Strategic Studies. Defense ministers or deputies and other top military brass from more than 20 countries, including Japan, Britain, Australia, France and modern Zealand have gathered in Singapore for the three-day forum, with many bilateral meetings being held upon the sidelines.

At a doorstop interview with reporters earlier in the day, he said the United States is seeking a ''firm usual multilateral position'' on North Korea from southern Korea, Japan, Russia and China.

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