{"id":59037,"date":"2019-11-23T15:14:30","date_gmt":"2019-11-23T15:14:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/uncategorized\/2019\/11\/23\/no-us-plan-to-exit-south-korea-says-indo-pacom-chief\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T22:30:14","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T22:30:14","slug":"no-us-plan-to-exit-south-korea-says-indo-pacom-chief","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2019\/11\/23\/no-us-plan-to-exit-south-korea-says-indo-pacom-chief\/","title":{"rendered":"No US plan to exit South Korea, says Indo-Pacom chief"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

HALIFAX, Canada \u2015 America\u2019s top commander in the Pacific doubled down on the Pentagon denials<\/a> that the U.S. is considering withdrawing its troops from South Korea, if the Pacific nation does not pay more for maintaining them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo one has talked to me about planning to draw down troops,\u201d Indo-Pacific Command chief Adm. Philip Davidson<\/a> told reporters on the sidelines of the Halifax International Security Forum on Saturday. \u201cI don\u2019t know of any plan to draw down troops.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The comments followed the Pentagon saying Thursday there was \u201cabsolutely no truth\u201d to a report in Chosun Ilbo, South Korea\u2019s biggest newspaper, that the U.S. Defense Department was \u201ccurrently considering removing any troops from the Korean Peninsula.\u201d The U.S. maintaining a 28,500-strong contingent on the peninsula to deter North Korean aggression.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Defense Secretary Mark Esper, said Thursday while wrapping up his trip to the region that he does not believe there is a rift in the U.S.-South Korean alliance, despite a breakdown this week in negotiations over a U.S. demand for a five-fold increase in what Seoul pays to keep American troops on its soil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Esper was also quoted saying there are so plans for a withdrawal. \u201cWe\u2019re not threatening allies over this. This is a negotiation,\u201d he told reporters during a trip to Vietnam.<\/p>\n\n\n\t