After a Wall Street Journal article claimed Washington was considering a limited withdrawal, South Korea’s defense ministry announced Friday that there have been no discussions with Washington regarding pulling US troops from the South. According to a WSJ record citing US defense officials, Washington is considering deploying 4,500 troops from South Korea to different areas, including Guam, while considering this option. Seoul, South Korea’s long-standing alliance, has 28,500 soldiers stationed in the country to guard it from North Korea’s nuclear-armed adversary. However, US President Donald Trump claimed last year that Seoul may spend trillions more yearly to host American forces if he won the election before winning the election. Seoul’s defense department responded to a question about the WSJ review by saying,” South Korea and the United States haven’t discussed the drawback of the United States Forces Korea.” Seoul agrees to increase its contribution by 8.3 % to 1.52 trillion won ($ 1.1 billion ) for 2026 after signing a new five-year agreement last year to share the cost of stationing US troops in South Korea. Seoul’s defense ministry stated that” US Forces Korea have played a significant role in the South Korea-US ally by maintaining a strong combined defense position with our military to deter North Korean anger and actions,” adding that this had contributed to “peace and stability on the Vietnamese Peninsula and in the place.” When contacted by AFP, US Forces Korea said any comments on the matter may come from Washington.” We will continue to cooperate with the US to further enhance this part.”
