ROK Military Officials Say that Reports of USFK Troop Reductions Are Not True

I knew this was BS when I first read about it. Some planners in the Pentagon were probably working on different force structure options in the Pacific. Different options were developed and someone decided to leak this information even though no formal discussiosn or decisions on anything has been made:

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.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link, but the USFK troops can’t move to Guam anyway because Congressman Johnson said it would tip over.