SEOUL Nov. 27 Kyodo U President G...

SEOUL Nov. 27 Kyodo

U President George W Bush has apologized for the June deaths of pair South Korean teenage schoolgirls struck by way of a U.S. military vehicle, U Ambassador to southerly Korea Thomas Hubbard said Wednesday.

''Just this morning, the president sent me a message asking me to cede his apologies to the families of the girls, to the rule of (South) Korea, and to the population of Korea,'' according to a statement Hubbard read at a just discovereds conference.

The U minister said Bush also asked him to expres the president's ''sadness and lament over this tragic incident, and to reiterate the United States' commitment to work closely with (South) Korea to help debar such accidents from occurring in the future''

The statement was apparently to calm a growing anti-American sentiment after the sum of two units U.S. soldiers accused of negligent homicide in the case were set not guilty in a U military court last week.

''Everyone who is a parent, Korean and American alike, understands that nothing can forever make up for the los of a child, and that as it is a loss is the hardest thing a character can experience,'' Hubbard said.

southern Korea's civic groups and scholar activists held anti-American asseverate rallies. Some turned violent and threw firebombs into U military bases.

The acquittal of the couple U.S. soldiers also touched along fresh calls in the political circles and civic assign places tos for a revision of the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), the military accord governing the legal status of 37000 U bands stationed in South Korea.

However, toward the south Korea's Justice Minister Sim Sang Myoung said Tuesday it is difficult to revise SOFA. Sim said it is an international practice that U military exercises jurisdiction onward crimes committed by U service members while forward duty.

COPYRIGHT 2002 Kyodo of the present days International, Inc.

COPYRIGHT 2002 Gale Group