US considering pulling some troops from South Korea, WSJ reports

Shinhye Kang, Bloomberg News on May 22, 2025

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

South Korea said there have been no discussions with the U.S. over a possible pullback of American troops stationed in the country, after a media report said Washington is reviewing a proposal to withdraw some of its forces.

The proposal could result in the removal of about 4,500 American troops based in South Korea, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter, a move that could further stir security concerns in the divided Korean peninsula.

South Korea’s defense ministry said there has been “absolutely no discussion” with the U.S. regarding a potential U.S. troop withdrawal.

U.S. troops stationed in South Korea are a core part of the two countries’ alliance, helping to deter North Korea from invading or making provocations while contributing to peace and stability in the region, the ministry said in a text message to reporters.

The WSJ report said one of the options under discussion includes relocating some of the 28,500 U.S. troops in South Korea to other locations in the Indo-Pacific region, including Guam. The proposal has not reached U.S. President Donald Trump’s desk yet and is one of several ideas being discussed by senior officials conducting the review, the report said.

Trump has pushed U.S. allies to step up military spending in return for deploying American troops in conflict zones. In October, just before winning the presidential election, Trump said South Korea would pay billions of dollars more every year to host U.S. troops if he were in the White House and called the long-time U.S. ally a “money machine.”

Trump made those remarks less than two weeks after the U.S. and South Korea reached a new five-year cost-sharing deal for hosting American forces on the divided peninsula. Under the agreement, South Korea will raise its share of the costs to 1.52 trillion won ($1.1 billion) in 2026, up 8.3% compared with this year.

A Pentagon spokesman was quoted in the report saying there were no policy announcements to make. National Security Council spokesman Pete Nguyen didn’t address the troop-withdrawal issue but said Trump was committed to the “complete denuclearization” of North Korea, while South Korea’s defense ministry declined to comment, according to the report.

Trump said in April that he discussed trade deficit, shipbuilding cooperation, the Alaska pipeline project and defense cost sharing during his phone call with Korea’s then Acting President Han Duck-soo.

_____