Mark Esper's remarks inviting 'crisis' to U.S., Korea alliance, analyst says
3 minutes
Nov. 20 (UPI) -- Speculation is growing in South Korea that the Trump administration is not ruling out the withdrawal of U.S. troops from the peninsula following remarks from U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper.
Esper told reporters in the Philippines on Tuesday that he refuses to speculate whether the United States would consider reducing troops in South Korea.
"I'm not going to prognosticate or speculate on what we may or may not do," Esper said, according to Yonhap. "The State Department has the lead in these discussions, and I'm sure they are in capable hands. We just take this one step at a time."
Read more at: https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2019/11/20/Mark-Espers-remarks-inviting-crisis-to-US-Korea-alliance-analyst-says/8731574253646/?sl=11
It's unconfirmed but a draw down of 4000 troops was rumored. Bing.com says we have close to 23,500 troops in South Korea.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Forces_KoreaThe below article sets the figure at more like 28,500:
Pentagon denies report U.S. mulls pulling up to 4,000 troops from South Korea
Joyce Lee, Phil Stewart
SEOUL/HANOI (Reuters) - The United States on Thursday denied a South Korean news report that it was considering withdrawing up to 4,000 troops from South Korea if it does not pay more for maintaining a 28,500-strong U.S. contingent deterring North Korean aggression.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-southkorea-usa-military-idUSKBN1XU2V4?utm_campaign=trueAnthem%3A+Trending+Content&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=facebook
BUT... in all of this, are we, the USA, a bit peeved with the recent friction in South Korean/Japanese relations? Which is about an intelligence alliance.
U.S. Ambassador Harris Very Unhappy with Seoul’s Withdrawal from GSOMIA
GIKorea | November 20, 2019 | US-ROK Alliance |
Ambassador Harris has always been a straight talker and he is letting the Moon administration know how he feels about their upcoming withdrawal from the GSOMIA with Japan:
The top U.S. envoy in South Korea said Tuesday that Seoul has elevated its long-simmering historical conflict with Tokyo into the security realm, redoubling calls for it to reverse the decision to end its military information-sharing accord with Japan.
Amb. Harry Harris made the remarks, warning that the termination of the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) would affect America’s ability to defend South Korea, which is “our treaty obligation to your country.â€
More at: https://www.rokdrop.net/2019/11/u-s-ambassador-harris-very-unhappy-with-seouls-withdrawal-from-gsomia/
Sometimes, more to the picture, however, I"ll say, for me, we should stay by loyally as allies to Japan or South Korea.
Not sure where the "consideration" of a troop draw down in SK comes from. It's easy to talk that way on the web but when it comes to a real life situation, the stakes are much different.
