Seoul says no talks with US on potential troop pullout

SEOUL: South Korea said on Friday there have been no talks with Washington about the United States pulling troops from the South after a Wall Street Journal report claimed a partial withdrawal was being considered.

The WSJ report, citing US defence officials, said Washington was 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 security ally, stations around 28,500 troops in the South to help protect it against nuclear-armed North Korea. However, US President Donald Trump said before winning last year´s election that Seoul would pay billions more annually to host American troops if he returned to the White House.

Asked about the WSJ report, Seoul´s defence 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 signed a new five-year agreement last year 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 defence posture with our military to deter North Korean aggression and provocations,” Seoul´s defence ministry said, adding this contributed to “peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and in the region”.