The United States is reportedly considering whether to withdraw thousands of troops from South Korea.
According to a report from the Wall Street Journal, the Trump administration is mulling over pulling out 4,500 troops from South Korea and redeploying them to Guam, citing officials in the report.
The proposal has yet to be formally presented to President Donald Trump and is only one of many ideas being presented by defense officials, according to the report.
The idea of withdrawing U.S. troops from South Korea has come under criticism from military leaders recently. In an April 10 Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, Army Gen. Xavier Brunson, the commander for U.S. forces in Korea, advised against the drawdown.
While no decision has been made yet, or appeared to have reached Trump’s desk, the idea of withdrawing troops would align with Trump’s past statements on U.S. global troop deployments and a wish to engage diplomatically with North Korea.
In his first term, Trump held three meetings with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and initially made progress toward Washington and Pyongyang reaching an understanding on denuclearization. Despite the rapprochement ultimately failing, Trump continues to express a desire to reengage with Kim.
Earlier this month, reports emerged that the Trump administration, along with outside advisors, were seeking ways to restart diplomatic contacts between Washington and Pyongyang. A potential troop drawdown could be used as a goodwill gesture to try and restart talks.
Trump has also historically criticized indefinite troop deployments overseas, which he saw as the U.S. not getting a fair benefit in return.
The Trump administration has publicly stated that they wish to focus America’s military and economic resources on the Indo-Pacific to confront China’s growing power.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated last month that the war in Ukraine, of which the U.S. is the main backer of Kiev, was distracting the U.S. from other areas, saying, “We have other priorities.”
While the U.S. may be looking to decrease its presence on the Korean Peninsula, redeploying troops to Guam, as the report suggests, may be a way of alleviating concerns from U.S. allies in the region about the potential drawdown.