The United States is discussing with Seoul the possible withdrawal of thousands of U.S. troops from South Korea while increasing American military strength and mobility there and around Asia, U.S. defense officials said on Saturday. The officials said the bilateral talks were being held in conjunction with Pentagon planning on changing the U.S. military "footprint" around the world after the Cold War, but stressed that it was far too soon to speculate on the touchy issue of how many of the 37,000 U.S. troops in the South might be withdrawn.
"The final figure could be high — I wouldn't argue with thousands. But that is speculation and far from decided," one of the officials told Reuters when asked about a report that as many as one-third could leave South Korea. Another official stressed that any withdrawal of thousands of troops would likely be accompanied by increases in U.S. air and naval power in the Asia-Pacific, including the possibility of placing additional strike aircraft on the island of Guam and even a second aircraft carrier in or near the region. "It is just premature to discuss numbers. Nothing has been decided on that (South Korea)," Defense Department spokesman Larry Di Rita said. "We have said we are working on restructuring our presence globally. But we always start with the premise that we will remain engaged in a way that reflects the current world."
| Just get out. They're strong enough to defend themselves. |
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