Reports have emerged that the Donald Trump administration is still not ruling out the possibility of reducing U.S. troops stationed in Korea.
According to the Associated Press on the 29th (local time), two senior defense officials heading to Singapore to attend the Shangri-La Dialogue with U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said they are not ruling out the reduction of troops stationed in Korea while determining the necessary troop levels to best deter China in the region.
A source noted that no decision has been made yet regarding the scale of U.S. troops in Korea, but the scale of troop deployment will be optimized not only for defending Korea from North Korea but also for deterring China. This is interpreted to mean that it is not ruling out the option of reducing some troops in Korea to redeploy them to other regions in order to deter China.
Earlier, The Wall Street Journal reported that the U.S. Department of Defense is considering relocating 4,500 of the 28,500 U.S. troops in Korea to other Indo-Pacific regions like Guam in order to deter China. The Department of Defense denied the report, but senior officials still have not ruled out the possibility of reducing U.S. troops in Korea.
The remarks from senior officials align with the 'strategic flexibility' sought by the Trump administration. While U.S. troops in Korea have been stationed to protect Korea from North Korean threats under the Korea-U.S. Mutual Defense Treaty, the United States has been gradually expanding strategic flexibility due to an intensifying power competition with China. This trend has strengthened further since the inauguration of the Trump administration.
Xavier Brunson, the commander of U.S. Forces Korea, also stated at the Pacific Armies Land Forces Symposium (LANPAC) held in Hawaii on the 15th that 'U.S. Forces Korea does not only focus on deterring North Korea,' adding that 'we are also focusing on regional operations, activities, and investments as a small part of a larger Indo-Pacific strategy.'