US Secretary of Defence quashes news of pulling out 4000 US troops from South Korea on account of high deployment cost
The United States (U.S.) Secretary of Defense – Mike Esper today, i.e., November 21, 2019, denied the claims of a South Korean newspaper – Chosun Ilbo, which said that U.S. is planning to pull back 4,000 troops, deployed in South Korea, if the latter doesn’t properly pay for the deployment cost.
There are about 28,500 U.S troops in South Korea, which remains technically in a state of war with nuclear-armed neighbour North Korea, post the historic Korean War.
The report was published in Chosun Ilbo after defence talks between U.S. and South Korea fell apart on Tuesday, November 19, 2019. It is believed that talks concluded abruptly because the President of U.S. – Donald Trump wants South Korea to pay U.S. $ 5 billion for keeping U.S. forces in their country, which is 5 times more than the current cost.
As a matter of fact, neither side has officially confirmed this amount. But speculations are being drawn on the basis of the comments of Trump where he mentioned that U.S. military presence in and around South Korea was “U.S. $ 5 billion worth of protection”.
Giving the reference of Mike Esper, the Pentagon Spokesman – Jonathan Hoffman said in a media statement, “There is absolutely no truth to the Chosun Ilbo report that the US Department of Defense is currently considering removing any troops from the Korean Peninsula.”
The Statement also stated, “Secretary Esper was in South Korea this past week where he repeatedly reiterated our ironclad commitment to (South Korea) and its people. News stories such as this expose the dangerous and irresponsible flaws of single anonymous source reporting. We are demanding the Chosun Ilbo immediately retract their story.”
The tussle between North and south Korea dates back to 1950-1953 Korean War. The Korean War was fought between North Korea (with the support of People’s Republic of China and the Soviet Union) and South Korea (with the support of the U.S. and 21 member countries of the United Nations). The war began on June 25, 1950 when North Korea invaded South Korea, following a series of clashes along the border.
In 1948, as a product of the Cold War, the Soviet Union and the U.S. divided Korea into 2 sovereign States with the border set at the 38th parallel. A socialist State was established in the North under the communist leadership of Kim Il-sung. Also, a capitalist State was established in the South, under the anti-communist leadership of Syngman Rhee. The Governments of both the Korean nation claim to be the sole legitimate Government of all of Korea.
The war came to an end on July 27, 1953, when the Korean Armistice Agreement was signed, creating a Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) to separate North and South Korea. However, no peace treaty was ever signed, and the two Koreas are technically still at war.
It is to be noted that as per U.S. law, the number of troops in South Korea must not fall below 22,000 unless the U.S. Secretary of Defence justifies the same to the Congress.
