US to help South Korea in Agent Orange inquiry
South Korea and the US have agreed to hold a joint inquiry into allegations that American soldiers dumped large amounts of Agent Orange on Korean land.
Three US Army veterans said they buried about 250 barrels of the hazardous chemical at a US military base in Chilgok, south-east of Seoul, in 1978.
Seoul said a joint inspection team would be sent to the camp.
The US used Agent Orange in the Vietnam War to clear jungle. Vietnam says it caused millions of birth defects.
Campaigners for US veterans of the Vietnam War also say exposure to the chemical defoliant is associated with higher instances of cancers and other diseases.
'We filled it full of barrels'
American broadcaster KPHO first publicised the claims that US troops buried the barrels at Camp Carroll in Chilgok in a documentary that was broadcast last week.
Three Vietnam War veterans told the channel that they had been involved in the operation.
"We went and dug a big hole in the ground on the back side of the post, and then we filled it full of barrels," said Richard Cramer.
Another veteran, Robert Travis, told KPHO: "On the barrels it said Chemical Type Agent Orange."