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[Photo by Han Joo-hyung]
Washington could beckon some of its troops in South Korea back home if U.S. President Donald Trump gets re-elected in the upcoming presidential election in November, according to a U.S. expert.
“If Trump gets the second term, he will act on his long skepticism with regard to U.S. Troops in Korea,” said Victor Cha, senior adviser and Korea chair of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), at the 21st World Knowledge Forum pre-event held Wednesday under the theme of ‘US Presidential Election and Its Impact on Korean Peninsula Policy’.
Trump thinks allies like Korea are cheating the U.S. while free-riding on U.S. security commitment, Cha added.
“It will not surprise me at all in the second Trump administration if he will also not just pull troops from Germany and Afghanistan but also pull some troops from Korea, also using it as leverage to try to squeeze more South Korea on SMA, the Special Measures Agreement,” he emphasized.
[Photo by Han Joo-hyung]
John Hamre, president of CSIS, also agreed with him, saying “We (the U.S.) don’t have troops in Korea as a favor to Korea. We have troops in Korea because it’s in America’s interest to support Korea’s security.”
Both expected a quick return to U.S.-Korea negotiations about the costs for supporting U.S. troops in Korea after the U.S. presidential election in November, but that the talks would go quiet without a significant change.
They advised that Seoul has to keep a close watch on possible military provocations from the North, ahead of the November event.
By Yoo Joon-ho and Lee Ha-yeon
[ⓒ Pulse by Maeil Business News Korea & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]
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