Mood swing - Pro-U.S. crowd finds voice in South Korea

SEOUL, South Korea -- Not long ago, angry chants of "murderous American GIs" and the somber flicker of anti-U.S. candlelight vigils once filled the downtown streets of Seoul.

But as tension builds over North Korea's suspected nuclear weapons program, pro-American rallies are drawing big crowds in the South Korean capital.

Supporters hope to attract 500,000 people. It follows two pro-American rallies last month that each attracted tens of thousands to support South Korea's top ally.

The more vocal pro-American mood swing is a turnaround from just months ago when tens of thousands of South Koreans joined candlelit protests and chanted down the U.S. military after the deaths of two South Korean girls struck by an American vehicle.

At that time, pro-U.S. counterrallies managed to muster only dozens. Now with the tide shifted, anti-U.S. protests are now small and localized, such as a recent one opposing a construction project at a U.S. base.

Cutting back troops

Giving impetus to the turnaround is talk in Washington of cutting back on the 37,000 U.S. troops based in South Korea as a deterrent against a North Korean attack.

Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said last week that the United States is working to see if it should restructure or reduce its forces or possibly move troops away from Seoul or the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas.

That's chilling news to many in South Korea, especially the older generation that remembers the North Korean invasion that sparked the 1950-53 war.

Hinting at a troop reduction now may be Washington's way of trying to rein in the South, which has differed with the United States over the standoff with North Korea, said Paik Haksoon of the Sejong Institute think tank outside Seoul.

The United States already has plans to consolidate bases and will phase out dozens of its 95 installations by 2011.

But if U.S. forces were pulled out or actually scaled back, South Korea's Ministry of National Defense estimates it would boost South Korean defense spending from 2.7 percent of gross domestic product to as high as 6 percent.

That could undercut President-elect Roh's hopes of rekindling the sour economy.

"They are trying to persuade us into taking their side," Paik said. "The U.S. is trying to play a trump card."