US Defense Secretary Mark Esper, left, shakes hands with South Korean Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo, right, for the media before the 51st Security Consultative Meeting at the Defense Ministry in Seoul, Nov. 15, 2019.
The Hill: Pentagon denies report that US mulling withdrawal of 4,000 troops from South Korea
The Pentagon is pushing back against a South Korean news report that said it is considering withdrawing up to 4,000 troops from the country if Seoul does not increase its contribution to maintain U.S. troops on the Korean peninsula.
South Korea's Chosun Ilbo newspaper reported Thursday that top U.S. military leaders had discussed withdrawing a brigade from the area if defense cost negotiations do not go well, citing a “diplomatic source in Washington.” A brigade usually consists of 3,000 to 4,000 soldiers.
But top Defense Department spokesman Jonathan Hoffman said there was “absolutely no truth to the Chosun Ilbo report,” and demanded the paper pull the story.
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Update #1: Pentagon denies report U.S. mulls pulling up to 4,000 troops from South Korea (Reuters)
Update #2: Pentagon Dismisses Reports of US Troop Withdrawal from South Korea If Seoul Rejects Spending Hike (Sputnik)
WNU Editor: It was a South Korean news website that first reported the story that the U.S. may withdraw some military personnel. It looks like some people are nervous in Seoul.
2 comments:
US troops in South Korea are too exposed for any good. In a war the North Koreans have sufficient stocks of missiles to pulverize land bases, airports, harbors and pre-positioned war stocks. China would no doubt help with massive electronic warfare.
The US ought to pull out everybody except THAAD, Patriot, drone operations, hardened command and control assets leaving offshore ground troops and aviation assets. Given the bad relations between Japan and South Korea there is no guarantee Tokyo grants permission to use Japanese soil to assist the South so US help will have to stage elsewhere.
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