Reporters from Reference News Website reported on May 23 that according to a report on the website of the US "Wall Street Journal" on May 22, defense officials who are aware of the discussions said that the Trump administration is considering withdrawing thousands of US troops from South Korea, which may cause new anxiety among allies who are concerned about the White House's commitment to Asia.

These officials and an informed source said that one option being considered by the Pentagon is to withdraw about 4,500 troops and redeploy them to other locations in the Indo-Pacific region, including Guam. Two of these officials said that this idea is being prepared for consideration by President Trump as part of an informal policy review regarding North Korea issues.

These two officials said that this proposal has not yet reached Trump's desk and is one of several ideas being discussed by senior officials who are conducting the assessment.

Since his first term, Trump has been considering changing the deployment situation of US troops in South Korea. There are currently about 28,500 US troops stationed in South Korea.

Last month, the senior commander overseeing US troops in Asia warned against reducing the number of US troops in South Korea, stating that doing so would endanger their ability to defeat North Korea and win other potential conflicts in Northeast Asia.

US officials said that no decision will be made regarding the size of the US troop presence in South Korea until there is more clarity on the direction of the war in Ukraine and whether the government will continue to provide military support to Kyiv.

The report said that seriously considering troop withdrawal from South Korea could cause panic in the Indo-Pacific region. South Korea, as well as Japan and the Philippines, rely on close cooperation with US troops to defend their countries and project power in this increasingly contentious region. (Translated by Qiu Fang)

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