World IN BRIEF : SOUTH KOREA : Cheney Trip Focuses on Military Cutbacks

Defense Secretary Dick Cheney departs for South Korea today to discuss prospects for further U.S. military cuts in the vast Pacific region and to address the volatile issue of nuclear weapons on the Korean Peninsula. He will take part in the annual U.S.-South Korea security meeting that begins Wednesday and briefly visit Japan before flying home Saturday. The Pentagon, faced with painful budget cuts in the coming decade, is already trimming its Pacific forces by 10% over three years, and the possibility of future reductions will be on Cheney’s list of topics.