Key points
- There are currently 28,500 US troops stationed in South Korea
- No talks held with US on troop withdrawal: South Korea’s defence ministry
- Seoul and Washington agreed on a five-year plan on defence cost sharing last year
ISLAMABAD: Trump administration contemplates moving roughly 4,500 US forces to Guam or other locations in region
The Trump administration is weighing a withdrawal of thousands of American troops from South Korea, according to defence officials familiar with the discussions, a move that could stir new anxiety among allies worried about the White House commitment to Asia, Wall Street Journal reported.
An option being developed by the Pentagon is to pull out roughly 4,500 troops and move them to other locations in the Indo-Pacific region, including to Guam, the officials and a person familiar with the matter said. The idea is being prepared for consideration by President Trump as part of an informal policy review on dealing with North Korea, two of the officials said, according to the WSJ report.
“No talks held with US”
Meanwhile, according to Reuters, South Korea’s defence ministry said on Friday that Seoul and Washington had not had discussions about the withdrawal of some US troops stationed in the country.
There are currently 28,500 US troops stationed in South Korea.
South Korea would continue cooperation with the United States to maintain a strong combined defence posture in order to deter North Korea, Seoul’s defence ministry said in a statement.
Defence cost sharing
Seoul and Washington agreed on a five-year plan on defence cost sharing last year but US President Donald Trump has signalled that the cost of the US military presence could be up for discussion in ongoing trade negotiations with Seoul.
South Korean officials have so far maintained the position that defence costs are a separate matter from the trade talks, according to Reuters.
