[Yang Nak-gyu's Defence Club] Is the Reduction of USFK Becoming a Reality?

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] It has been reported that the possibility of reducing the number of U.S. troops stationed in South Korea is high. The U.S. government is flexibly adjusting the number of overseas deployed troops, including those in South Korea.

Kang Dae-sik, a member of the National Assembly's National Defense Committee from the People Power Party, revealed the Ministry of National Defense's response regarding the omission of the phrase about maintaining U.S. troops in South Korea in the joint statement of the SCM on the 15th during a comprehensive audit of the Ministry of National Defense on the 26th.

According to Rep. Kang, the Ministry of National Defense explained, "The U.S. government is reviewing ways to flexibly adjust the scale of overseas deployed U.S. troops in accordance with changes in global defense policy," and "(The U.S.) is pursuing a plan to flexibly adjust troop numbers considering security situations rather than maintaining a certain number of troops in specific countries."

The current number of U.S. troops stationed in South Korea is 28,500. However, many expect that if strategic flexibility is granted to the U.S. forces in South Korea, maintaining the current scale will be difficult. In response, Defense Minister Suh Wook said during the comprehensive audit that the omission of the phrase about maintaining U.S. troops in the SCM joint statement "seems to be due to a directive from the U.S. government to the Ministry of National Defense to adopt a more flexible stance on overseas deployed troops." However, he added, "Because the U.S. Congress controls everything through the National Defense Authorization Act, such matters (changes to U.S. troops in South Korea) were not discussed at the SCM."

So far, the U.S. side has made statements that seemed to link the negotiation of the South Korea-U.S. defense cost-sharing agreement with the scale of U.S. troops stationed in South Korea. The South Korean government has already presented its best negotiation proposal, and with the U.S. presidential election approaching, it is unlikely to accept unreasonable demands for increases.

Defense Minister Suh Wook and U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper discussed defense cost issues at the 52nd Security Consultative Meeting (SCM) held on the 14th (local time) at the Pentagon near Washington D.C. The 11th Special Measures Agreement (SMA) negotiations, which determine the amount South Korea will bear this year for the costs of stationing U.S. troops in South Korea, began in September last year but are currently deadlocked. Although South Korea and the U.S. tentatively agreed at the end of March to increase last year's contribution (1.0389 trillion won) by about 13%, the final agreement was not reached due to former President Donald Trump's rejection, and since then, the U.S. representative was replaced, resulting in no significant progress in negotiations.

In his opening remarks at the SCM, Secretary Esper emphasized, "We hope that we all agree on the need to reach an agreement on the Special Measures Agreement (SMA) as soon as possible to ensure the stable deployment of U.S. troops on the Korean Peninsula," which can also be interpreted as a statement implying that if negotiations are not concluded promptly, it may be difficult to continue deploying U.S. troops in South Korea at the current scale.