The daily reported that US President's administration Donald Trump is considering withdrawing about 4.5 thousand. soldiers from 28.5 thousand USFK staff and their relocation to other bases in the Indo-Pacific region, including Guam.
“Usfk, as the main force of the South Korea and the United States alliance, together with the South Korean army, contributed to peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and in the region, maintaining a solid common defensive attitude and scaring the invasion and provocation of North Korea” – said the ministry. South Korea will continue cooperation with the US to maintain a strong defensive attitude to scare North Korea scare away – added.
Donald Trump previously expressed the desire to withdraw troops from South Korea.
A spokesman for the Pentagon in an interview with the South Korean Yonhap agency also pointed out that there are no messages regarding the possible reduction of USFK.
According to the South Korean media, speculation about reduction appear in the context of Washington's pursuit of “strategic flexibility” of the USFK to focus their action on the scares of China in connection with the intensification of military activity in the Indo-Pacific region, and not only on the threats of North Korea, and ongoing discussions on the division of the costs of maintaining troops.
In October last year Seul and Washington have signed a cost division agreement, under which South Korea. It will pay 1.52 trillion won (about $ 1.1 billion) in 2025, which is an increase of 8.3 percent. Compared to 2024
