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A Coast Guard inspection of a freighter docked at the Port of Longview "didn't uncover or reveal anything," a Coast Guard spokesman said Saturday, but the crew members are not allowed off the ship and security will be maintained until the ship leaves. "We were not expecting to find anything," Lt. Cmdr. Glynn Smith, the Coast Guard's public affairs officer for the Pacific area, said Saturday by telephone from his office in Alameda, Calif. The search was routine, according to the Coast Guard, but Longview officials said the security crackdown is the most port activity since the Sept. 11, 2001,...

Security Tightened for APECBy Park Song-wu Staff Reporter PUSAN _ Pusan has tight security plans for hosting this year's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in November, organizers said. ``Our city is strengthening cooperative measures with relevant agencies to beef up security for the major event,’’ Lee Kyung-hoon, executive director of the Preparatory Office for APEC 2005, said in a telephone interview. His remarks came as police in Pusan, South Korea’s second largest city, increased anti-terrorism patrols around public facilities, including airport and train stations, after terrorists hit London last week. ``Military, police and the National Intelligence Service have joined forces...

Lord, Keep our Troops forever in Your care Give them victory over the enemy... Grant them a safe and swift return... Bless those who mourn the lost. . FReepers from the Foxhole join in prayer for all those serving their country at this time. ...................................................................................... ........................................... U.S. Military History, Current Events and Veterans Issues Where Duty, Honor and Countryare acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated. Our Mission: The FReeper Foxhole is dedicated to Veterans of our Nation's military forces and to others who are affected in their relationships with Veterans. In the FReeper Foxhole, Veterans or their family members should feel...

S. Korean Foreign Minister Invites Kim Jong-il to APEC Summit JAKARTA -- South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon met with North Korean Foreign Minister Paek Nam-sun on Thursday and invited North Korean leader Kim Jong-il and other North Korean delegates to the summit for ministerial talks of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), which is scheduled to be held in Busan, South Korea, in November 2005. Ban is on a trip to Jakarta to attend the ASEAN Regional Forum. It is the first time for the South Korean government to officially invite the North Korean leader to the APEC. Ban suggested...

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - A U.S. plan to cut the number of its troops in South Korea by one-third by the end of 2005 will force the South to shoulder more responsibility for defending itself against any North Korean military aggression. The U.S. plan calls for withdrawing 12,500 of the 37,000 U.S. troops stationed in South Korea, according to a statement released Monday by the U.S. military in Seoul. The statement coincided with the beginning of talks between the two allies on another sensitive issue: moving U.S. troops farther south away from the tense border with North Korea.

Sunday February 9, 6:41 PM Thousands Support U.S. at S. Korea Rally South Koreas Christians release green color balloons into the sky during their anti-North Korea and pro-U.S. rally, in front of Busan Station, 400 kilometers (250 miles) southeast of Seoul, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2003. The participants urged North Korea to re-enter the global treaty to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and opposed the withdrawal of U.S. troops from South Korea. (AP Photo/ Yun Jai-hyoung)