Bush Apologizes For Deaths In S. Korea

President Bush is apologizing for the deaths of two South Korean girls killed when they were accidentally struck by a U.S. military vehicle on a back road outside Seoul.

The apology Wednesday came against a backdrop of rising anger in South Korea over the deaths of the girls in June and the acquittals in a U.S. military court last week of two American soldiers accused of negligent homicide in the case.

"Just this morning, the president sent me a message asking me to convey his apologies to the families of the girls, to the government of the Republic of Korea and to the people of Korea," U.S. Ambassador Thomas Hubbard said at a news conference.

Hubbard said President Bush asked him to express "his sadness and regret over this tragic incident and to reiterate the United States' commitment to work closely with the Republic of Korea to help prevent such accidents from occurring in the future."

U.S. military officials in South Korea have repeatedly apologized for the incident, and Secretary of State Colin Powell has also expressed regret. It was unclear whether President Bush's apology would help calm a growing sense of outrage in South Korea, which hosts 37,000 U.S. soldiers.

Sgt. Fernando Nino and Sgt. Mark Walker of the 2nd Infantry Division, who were in the vehicle that hit the girls, were acquitted last week. Many South Koreans said the trial was a whitewash, and some small demonstrations turned violent.

Protestors at a number of demonstrations in South Korea this week have hammered home another message, displaying signs telling the U.S. to pull its troops out of South Korea.

Dozens of demonstrators angry over the acquittals broke into a U.S. military base Tuesday - Camp Red Cloud, north of Seoul - by cutting through a wire fence on a hillside.

U.S. Army spokesman Lt. Col. Steven Boylan says the protestors chained themselves together and marched inside the base toward the front gate shouting "U.S. troops out of Korea!"

There were no clashes between American soldiers and the demonstrators, who were arrested by South Korean police.

In statements released Wednesday, the two soldiers offered condolences to the families of the two 13-year-old girls, Shim Mi-son and Shin Hyo-sun.

"I realize nothing that I can do or say will bring your daughters back, but I hope that you will accept my deepest apology," said Nino, commander of the mine-clearing vehicle that hit the girls June 13 during a training mission near North Korea.

"Even though it was an accident, I feel great remorse over this tragedy," said Walker, the driver.

Lt. Col. Steven Boylan, a U.S. military spokesman, said 14,000 soldiers of the 2nd Infantry Division were told prior to the trials not to leave their bases after 10 p.m.

Normally, the soldiers are required to return to their bases by midnight and 1.a.m. depending on the day.

"The incident had caused a lot of emotional outbursts and violent protests and we felt it necessary for safety reasons to take that precaution," Boylan said.

The soldiers' acquittals led to a renewal of calls by South Koreans for the revision of a U.S.-South Korean military accord so that South Korea has more jurisdiction in cases involving U.S. soldiers. However, South Korean Justice Minister Shim Sang-myoung said there were no plans to change the accord, which has been revised twice since 1966.

Currently, the U.S. military has jurisdictional rights over American soldiers accused of crimes while on duty, though it can allow South Korea to try them on a case-by-case basis.