Pentagon Denies US Troop Reduction Report In South Korea
JAKARTA - Pentagon spokesman on Friday dismissed reports of United States deliberations over the withdrawal of troops belonging to the United States Forces in South Korea (USFK) as "not true" and reiterated its full commitment to defending its allies.
Pentagon lead spokesman Sean Parnell issued a statement after The Wall Street Journal reported the US was considering the idea of withdrawing about 4,500 troops, out of a total of 28,500 USFK personnel, and moving them to another location in the Indo-Pacific, including Guam.
"The US remains strongly committed to defending the ROK and we look forward to working with new government officials to defend and strengthen our strong alliance," Parnell said in a statement sent to Yonhap News Agency, quoted from The Korea Times May 23, using the abbreviation of South Korea's official name, Republic of Korea.
"Reports that the Department of Defense will reduce US troops in the Republic of Korea are not true," he added.
The report on the idea of cutting USFK troops raised suspicions in South Korea because the reduction, if realized, could affect the prevention of North Korea, which likes to show off its strength and is interpreted as a sign of reduced security commitments to South Korea.
This comes as the Pentagon seeks to rebalance and redistribute its military assets in the region to optimize the prevention of its geopolitical rival, China, amid US President Donald Trump's belief that South Korea, its "rich" ally, did not "give US sufficient compensation for "large" US military protection against it.
SEE ALSO:
Previously, US Indo-Pacific Command Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo Jr. and USFK Commander General Xavier Brunson had expressed negative views on the idea of the withdrawal.
In a Senate hearing last month, Admiral Paparo warned that the withdrawal or reduction of US troops from Korea would increase the possibility of an invasion of North Korea. Meanwhile, General Brunson stressed that a reduction in troops would be "problem."
It is known that USFK has maintained its current troop numbers since the late 2000s.