S. Korea to probe U.S. alleged burial of Agent Orange

A joint inspection team composed of government officials and civilians is due to launch an on-site inspection of Camp Carroll, the suspected burial site of the toxic defoliant Agent Orange by the U.S. military over 30 years ago, on Monday.

The move came after South Korea and the United States agreed to conduct a joint inquiry into allegations that the U.S. military secretly dumped large amounts of Agent Orange at the U.S. military base in Chilgok, some 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul.

The U.S. military will share with Seoul internal records related to environmental conditions at Camp Carroll and allow a group of experts and area residents to visit the base for inspection, Korean government said.

The allegations of the massive dumping of the hazardous chemical by the U.S. military came to the surface after a U.S. television station reported, citing three U.S. Army veterans, about 250 drums of the substance were buried in 1978 at Camp Carroll.

(아주경제 송지영 기자)

Park Sae-jin swatchsjp@ajunews.com