Esper US Defense, "No Order to Withdraw US Forces from Korea" (Comprehensive)

Explanation of the Basic Principles for Reviewing the Redeployment of Overseas-Deployed U.S. Forces

Mark Esper, U.S. Secretary of Defense [Photo by AP News]

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] Mark Esper, U.S. Secretary of Defense, stated, "I have never given an order to withdraw troops from the Korean Peninsula."

On the 21st (local time), Secretary Esper responded to questions regarding recent media reports about the reduction of U.S. forces in South Korea during an online seminar hosted by the British think tank, the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS).

He mentioned his phone conversation with South Korean Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo, saying, "When I took office, I made it clear that I would implement the National Defense Strategy (NDS). The core of that is to review all geographic combatant commands and ensure that we are optimized and deployed not only to carry out the NDS but also to fulfill the regional missions assigned to us."

Secretary Esper continued, "We will continue to review coordination at all commands to confirm whether we are optimizing our forces in every theater," indicating that adjustments to U.S. troop deployments worldwide will be examined.

He also emphasized strategic flexibility, stating, "We are moving toward additional and new concepts such as dynamic force employment, and I want to continue pursuing more rotational deployments in the theaters."

Secretary Esper's remarks are interpreted as a principled stance that, although he has never ordered a reduction of U.S. forces in South Korea as reported by domestic and international media, he continues to review adjustments for optimizing U.S. troop deployments globally. While no order to reduce U.S. forces in South Korea has been issued yet, he may have left room for the possibility in the future.

Earlier, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on the 17th that the U.S. Department of Defense proposed a plan to reduce U.S. forces in South Korea to the White House last March. Foreign media noted similar reports in Korean media and have been paying attention to the potential reduction of U.S. forces in South Korea in connection with the recent U.S. troop withdrawal policy from Germany.

Regarding the U.S. media reports, some analyses suggest that the U.S. might be using the reduction of U.S. forces in South Korea as leverage to pressure for a resolution in the South Korea-U.S. defense cost-sharing negotiations. However, Kim In-cheol, spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stated at a regular briefing that the defense cost-sharing negotiations and the reduction of U.S. forces in South Korea are separate matters.

Meanwhile, on the same day, the U.S. Department of Defense released a press release disclosing the contents of the phone conversation between the defense ministers of South Korea and the U.S.

In the press release, the U.S. Department of Defense stated that Secretary Esper and Minister Jeong expressed unwavering support for the transfer of wartime operational control (OPCON) in line with the conditions agreed upon bilaterally in the Conditions-Based Transfer of Wartime Operational Control Plan (COTP).

They also reaffirmed a consistent commitment to ensure that each condition outlined in the OPCON transfer plan is met before transitioning from the current Combined Forces Command to the future Combined Forces Command.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.