{"id":67449,"date":"2018-06-29T02:58:04","date_gmt":"2018-06-29T02:58:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/06\/29\/mattis-says-us-will-keep-current-troop-levels-in-south-korea\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T12:37:59","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T12:37:59","slug":"mattis-says-us-will-keep-current-troop-levels-in-south-korea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2018\/06\/29\/mattis-says-us-will-keep-current-troop-levels-in-south-korea\/","title":{"rendered":"Mattis says US will keep current troop levels in South Korea"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Carrying a clear message of reassurance to South Korea,<\/a> U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis<\/a> stated flatly Thursday that the U.S. will maintain its current number of troops on the Korean Peninsula, even as nuclear negotiations continue with North Korea<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking alongside South Korean Defense Minister Song Young-moo, Mattis read a lengthy statement reinforcing America\u2019s \u201cironclad\u201d commitment <\/a>to Seoul, adding that \u201cthe U.S. will continue to use the full range of diplomatic and military capabilities to uphold this commitment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His message appeared aimed at putting to rest any rumblings that the U.S. would pull its forces off the peninsula \u2015 a possibility that gained momentum when President Donald Trump said after his June 12 summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un that he\u2019d like to remove all 28,500 U.S. troops from South Korea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI want to bring our soldiers back home,\u201d Trump said at that time, although he added that it\u2019s \u201cnot part of the equation right now.\u201d During that press conference he also abruptly announced that the U.S. was suspending major military exercises with the South, which was widely seen as a concession to the North.<\/p>\n\n\n\t