U.S. and South Korean soldiers march together at Camp Humphreys, South Korea, on April 25, 2025. (Wilfred Salters/U.S. Army)
CAMP HUMPHREYS, South Korea — South Korea’s military on Friday firmly denied that any discussions have taken place with the United States regarding a potential withdrawal of American troops from the peninsula, following a media report suggesting the White House was considering such a move.
“Absolutely nothing was discussed,” the Ministry of National Defense said in a text message to reporters. It emphasized that the 28,500 U.S. troops stationed in the South remain a “core strategy” of the U.S.-South Korea alliance and a key deterrent to North Korean aggression.
The statement came hours after The Wall Street Journal, citing two unnamed U.S. military officials, reported that President Donald Trump’s administration was evaluating a possible redeployment of 4,500 troops from South Korea to other Indo-Pacific locations, including Guam.
The report said the idea was among several under consideration and had not yet been presented to Trump.
The U.S. Department of Defense did not immediately respond to a request for comment early Friday.
In a post to X later that day, Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said that “anyone who’s covered the Pentagon knows that we always evaluate force posture. That said, the U.S. remains firmly committed to [South Korea.] Our alliance is iron clad.
“Reports that the DoD will reduce U.S. troops in [South Korea] are not true,” Parnell wrote.
The idea of reducing the U.S. military footprint in South Korea has surfaced before. Trump reportedly floated such proposals during his first term, arguing that Seoul was not contributing enough financially to host U.S. forces.
In his 2022 memoir, “A Sacred Oath,” former Defense Secretary Mark Esper, who was fired by Trump, described a 2020 incident in which the president nearly ordered the withdrawal of all 7,000 U.S. military dependents from South Korea.
“There was nothing to explain it,” Esper wrote. “There was nothing to warrant it.” The plan was eventually abandoned, he added.
North Korea has repeatedly called for the removal of U.S. forces from the peninsula, claiming their presence threatens its sovereignty and regional stability.
At a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on April 10, Adm. Samuel Paparo, head of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, and Army Gen. Xavier Brunson, commander of U.S. Forces Korea, warned that any reduction in troops would diminish America’s ability to respond to threats in the region.
“To reduce the force becomes problematic,” Brunson said. “I won’t speak to policy, but what we do provide there is the potential to impose cost in the East Sea to Russia, the potential to impose cost in the West Sea to China, and to continue to deter against North Korea.”
The Sea of Japan and Yellow Sea are known in Korea as the East and West seas, respectively.
Paparo, seated next to Brunson, echoed those concerns, saying a withdrawal “would reduce our ability to prevail in conflict.”
