Pentagon denies US considering withdrawing troops from South Korea

The Pentagon on Friday pushed back on a Wall Street Journal report that the Trump administration is considering withdrawing thousands of American troops from South Korea, calling the news “not true.” 

The Journal on Thursday first reported that the Defense Department was developing an option to pull out roughly 4,500 troops and move them to other locations in the Indo-Pacific region, including to Guam, citing defense officials familiar with the discussions.

The idea would be presented to President Trump as part of an informal policy review on dealing with North Korea, and is one of several ideas under discussion, two officials told the outlet. 

But, the Pentagon’s chief spokesperson Sean Parnell asserted that “reports that the DoD will reduce U.S. troops in the Republic of Korea [ROK] are not true.”

“Anyone who’s covered the Pentagon knows that we always evaluate force posture,” Parnell said in a post to X. “That said, the U. S. remains firmly committed to the ROK. Our alliance is iron clad.”

South Korea's defense ministry also on Friday said Seoul and Washington had not had discussions about a troop withdrawal, Reuters reported.

There are currently 28,500 U.S. troops stationed in South Korea, where, along with Japan and the Philippines, the country closely coordinates with American forces to act as a deterrent against North Korea and an increasingly aggressive China.

Seoul and Washington last year agreed on a five-year plan on defense cost sharing, but Trump has complained the country should foot more of the bill for housing U.S. troops. He has also suggested that the cost of the U.S. military presence may be brought up in ongoing trade negotiations with South Korea.

“We pay for U.S. military in Europe, and we don't get reimbursed by much. South Korea, too,” Trump told reporters at the White House on April 9. 

And during his first term, Trump insisted Seoul massively increase its dollars for U.S. forces stationed there, at one point reportedly demanding a 400 percent increase in financial contribution.

Any consideration of pulling American forces from South Korea, however, would likely alarm many of the United States’ allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific.

Such a move was also warned against last month by the commander of U.S. forces in Korea, Army Gen. Xavier Brunson, who told the Senate Armed Services Committee that a drawdown would be "problematic."

“They are a critical component to ballistic missile defense in the region,” Brunson said during an April 10 hearing. “They are critical to helping Indo-Pacific Command see, sense and understand threats to the north and to deter a great many adversaries. To reduce the force becomes problematic.”