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South Korea and the United States have agreed to investigate a report that the U.S. military dumped Agent Orange at a base 200 miles southeast of Seoul. The investigation is set to begin next week.
South Korea has agreed to start a joint investigation with the United States into possible dumping of the chemical Agent Orange at Camp Carroll army base near Seoul.
[Yunsik Hong, Deputy Minister for National Agenda, PM Office]:
"Tomorrow, we will start collecting ground water samples around the Camp Carroll base for the first time, and our investigation within Camp Carroll will begin next week."
A U.S. military official says ground-penetrating radar devices will be used in next week's investigation.
South Korean activists have called for a transparent investigation over claims made that the chemical defoliant Agent Orange was buried at a U.S. army base Camp Carroll in 1970s.
Earlier this week the U.S. military said it discovered a study indicating the military buried chemicals and herbicides at the military base, 200 miles southeast of Seoul. But the study did not specifically identify Agent Orange.
The controversy erupted last week, when South Korean media reported that U.S. veterans had told U.S. television station KPHO-TV that they were ordered to dump the chemicals at Camp Carroll in the late 1970s.
After the U.S. veterans started talking about the buried toxic chemicals, a South Korean man insisted he buried the barrels containing Agent Orange into a hole in 1973 when he was working for the base as a forklift driver.
The issue could potentially rekindle anti-U.S. sentiment in the country.
