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[아시아경제 양낙규 군사전문기자]With the introduction of the US Joe Biden administration, it is being evaluated that there will be no reduction in US forces in Korea. It is analyzed that US President Joe Biden will put a brake on the US military reduction policy announced by the former Donald Trump administration and have an impact.
President Biden visited the State Department on the 4th (local time). President Biden said at this meeting, “We will lead the review of the global deployment of US troops and will stop withdrawing US troops from Germany while the review is underway.”
Former President Trump has announced that he will reduce the number of US troops in Germany from 36,000 to 24,000. The plan was to relocate 5600 people to Europe and return 6400 to the United States.
Former President Trump also exercised his veto power on the grounds that the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) contained a restriction on the withdrawal of US troops from South Korea, Germany and Afghanistan. In particular, concerns that the size of the US Forces in Korea could be adjusted due to the statement of maintaining the current level of 28,500 US forces in the ROK-US Security Council (SCM) joint statement held last October between the US and ROK defense ministers amplified.
Trump’s mention of the withdrawal of US troops from Germany was an assessment of dissatisfaction with the size of German defense spending. In this regard, there were concerns that Trump, who claims that South Korea is free riding with a small contribution, could withdraw US forces in Korea as well.
However, some observations have been raised that the Biden administration’shutdown’ the reduction of US troops in South Korea to some extent dispel concerns about the reduction of US forces in Korea. In particular, President Biden criticized the former government for judging the alliance as an object of transaction rather than value, and has placed’recovery of alliance’ as the top priority in foreign policy.
Given the Biden administration’s actions, it can be interpreted that there is no small possibility that there will be no reduction of US forces in Korea that South Korea does not agree with. Regarding the call between the US and the ROK the day before, the White House also said, “President Biden emphasized the promise to strengthen the ROK-US alliance, which is a key axis of peace and prosperity in Northeast Asia.”
Of course, since its inauguration, the Biden administration has undertaken a comprehensive review of the effective deployment of US troops around the world, and President Biden’s comment on this day also means that it will freeze the reduction of US troops in Korea until a conclusion is concluded. In terms of efficiency, if it is judged that the USFK or USFK forces need adjustment, it means that there is no possibility that reductions will be realized.
The US Congress also allocated $2.2 billion to the 2021 defense budget by creating a “Pacific Deterrence Award” item. This is to reinforce the posture of US forces in the Indo-Pacific region to contain China, implying the possibility that the role of US forces in Korea will be adjusted.
The U.S. government is emphasizing the strategic flexibility of U.S. forces around the world, and the Biden administration has announced a resurgence of engagement policies under the motto of “The United States is back,” so there is still a possibility of changing roles such as temporary borrowing of U.S. forces in Korea in case of emergency Cannot be excluded.
Reporter Yang Nak-gyu [email protected]
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