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U.S. Blocking Return Of Surplus M1 Garands From Korea?
Recently, though, came news from South Korea that the sale of these M1’s was in a sort of bureaucratic limbo.
According to the Korea Times, “The U.S. government opposed South Korea’s bid to sell hundreds of thousands of aging U.S. combat rifles to American gun collectors…The [Ministry of National Defense] announced the plan last September as part of efforts to boost its defense budget, saying the export of the M1 Garand and carbine rifles would start by the end of 2009.”
However, “The U.S. administration put the brakes on the plan, citing ‘problems’ that could be caused by the importation of the rifles. The problems the U.S. government cited were somewhat ambiguous, said an official at the Ministry of National Defense on condition of anonymity.”
“The U.S. insisted that imports of the aging rifles could cause problems such as firearm accidents,” the official told Korea Times. “It was also worried the weapons could be smuggled to terrorists, gangs or other people with bad intentions. We’re still looking into the reason why the U.S. administration is objecting to the sale of the rifles and seeking ways to resolve the problems raised.”
Source: Source: Korea Times 8/12/10
Recommended books for gun collectors:
The Official Gun Digest Book of Guns & Prices 2010, Rifles, Pistols & Shotguns
