Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back speaks during a parliamentary session at the National Assembly in Seoul on Aug. 25, 2025. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, Aug. 25 (Korea Bizwire) — Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back said Monday the United States has made its position clear, at both the congressional and government levels, that there will be no drawdown of U.S. troops stationed in South Korea.
Ahn made the remarks in a parliamentary session, amid speculation that Washington could make official a plan to adjust the role and size of the 28,500-strong U.S. Forces Korea (USFK), as President Lee Jae Myung and U.S. President Donald Trump are set to hold their first summit talks Monday (U.S. time).
“From the discussions I had with U.S. congressmen, senators and the defense secretary, their message was consistent in that there would be no (USFK) drawdown,” Ahn said in response to a lawmaker’s question about the potential troop reduction.
“In particular, a U.S. senator who recently visited (South Korea) assured me that the very premise of a USFK drawdown is false, as such a matter would have to be put to a Senate vote,” he said.
The Trump administration is pushing to reshape alliances to better deter an assertive China, and a possible USFK reduction is seen as part of such efforts for the “strategic flexibility” that aims to reorient the USFK’s role for operations outside the Korean Peninsula.
Under the term “modernizing the alliance,” Washington is widely expected to urge Seoul to increase its defense spending and take on a larger security burden, possibly by renegotiating the cost-sharing agreement for maintaining the USFK, known as the Special Measures Agreement (SMA).
Ahn said the U.S. has not made any explicit demand to renegotiate the SMA.
“Both countries have already ratified the agreement, so it is not subject to renegotiation,” he said. “The U.S. has made no explicit proposal or request on this matter.”
(Yonhap)
