Jan 24 (Reuters) – The Pentagon envisions a “more limited” role in deterring North Korea, with South Korea taking primary responsibility, according to a policy document released on Friday, a move that could lead to a drawdown of U.S. forces on the Korean Peninsula.
South Korea hosts about 28,500 U.S. troops in combined defense against the military threat from North Korea, and Seoul has increased its defense budget by 7.5% for this year.
“South Korea is capable of assuming primary responsibility for deterring North Korea with critical but more limited U.S. support,” the Pentagon said in the 25-page National Defense Strategy document that guides its policies.
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“This shift in the balance of responsibility is consistent with the United States’ interest in updating the U.S. force posture on the Korean Peninsula.”
Trump’s shift to US domestic defense
In recent years, U.S. officials have signaled a desire to make U.S. forces in South Korea more flexible, to potentially operate outside the Korean Peninsula in response to a broader range of threats, such as defending Taiwan and checking China’s growing military reach.
South Korea has resisted the idea of changing the role of U.S. troops, but has worked to increase its defense capabilities over the past 20 years, with the goal of being able to take wartime command of the combined U.S. and South Korean forces. South Korea has 450,000 troops.
The South Korean Defense Ministry said the US military based in the country is the “core” of the alliance that has prevented North Korean aggression and ensured peace on the peninsula and the region.
“We will be cooperating closely with the US to continue to develop it in this direction,” he said.
North Korea routinely criticizes the U.S. military presence in South Korea and joint exercises — which allies say are defensive — as rehearsals for an invasion against it, driven by what it calls Washington’s hegemonic zeal.
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Elbridge Colby, a senior Pentagon official, is scheduled to travel to Asia next week and is expected to visit South Korea, a U.S. official said.
The comprehensive document, which each new administration publishes, states that the Pentagon’s priority is defending the homeland. In the Indo-Pacific region, according to the document, the Pentagon is focused on ensuring that China cannot dominate the United States or its allies.
“This does not require regime change or some other existential struggle. Instead, a decent peace, on terms favorable to Americans but which China can also accept and live under, is possible,” the document said, without mentioning Taiwan by name.
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China, which describes Taiwan as the most important and sensitive topic in its relations with the United States, claims democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory and has not ruled out using force to take control of the island. Taiwan rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims and asserts that only the people of Taiwan can decide its future.
China’s Defense Ministry has repeatedly said that resolving the “Taiwan issue” is a Chinese matter.
