SEOUL: South Korea’s defense ministry said Friday there have been no talks with Washington on pulling US troops from the South, after a Wall Street Journal report claimed Washington was considering a partial withdrawal.
Citing US defense officials, the WSJ report said Washington is considering whether to move around 4,500 troops out of South Korea and deploy them to other locations, including Guam.
Washington, South Korea’s long-time key security ally, stations around 28,500 troops in the South to help protect it against the nuclear-armed North Korea.
But US President Donald Trump said last year — before winning the election — that if he returned to the White House, Seoul would pay billions more annually to host American troops.
When asked about the WSJ report, Seoul’s defense ministry said: “There has been no discussion whatsoever between South Korea and the United States regarding the withdrawal of the United States Forces Korea.”
The allies last year signed a new five-year agreement on sharing the cost of stationing US troops in South Korea, with Seoul agreeing to raise its contribution by 8.3 percent to 1.52 trillion won ($1.1 billion) for 2026.
“US Forces Korea have served as a key component of the South Korea-US alliance, maintaining a strong combined defense posture with our military to deter North Korean aggression and provocations,” Seoul’s defense ministry said, adding this contributed to “peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and in the region.”
“We will continue close cooperation with the US to further strengthen this role going forward.”
United States Forces Korea declined to comment when contacted by AFP, saying any remarks on the matter should come from Washington.
Seoul says no talks with US on potential troop pullout
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Seoul says no talks with US on potential troop pullout
- The allies last year signed a new five-year agreement on sharing the cost of stationing US troops in South Korea.
Japan PM Takaichi’s party poised for landslide victory, Asahi poll shows
- Together with LDP’s coalition partner, the Japan Innovation Party or Ishin, the ruling alliance will likely reach 300 seats, the poll showed
TOKYO: Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s party is likely to score a landslide victory in next week’s lower house election, a survey by the Asahi newspaper showed.
A strong showing in Sunday’s election would solidify Takaichi’s grip on her party and give her a mandate for her expansionary fiscal policy, which could heighten concerns about Japan’s finances and push bond yields higher.
Takaichi’s Liberal Democratic Party is likely to well exceed a majority of 233 seats out of 465 seats up for grabs in the lower house, according to Asahi’s poll released on Sunday. That would be an increase from 198 seats now.
Together with LDP’s coalition partner, the Japan Innovation Party or Ishin, the ruling alliance will likely reach 300 seats, the poll showed.
The largest opposition party, the Centrist Reform Alliance, is struggling and could lose half its 167 seats, the Asahi said.
Takaichi’s ruling coalition currently holds a slim majority in the powerful lower house but has a minority in the upper house.
