U.S. President Donald Trump says he is not considering a withdrawal of American troops in South Korea... as a bargaining chip for his summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
The comments indicate that despite Trump's criticism over the issue of defense cost-sharing,... the U.S. military presence in the country is likely to be maintained.
Our Cha Sang-mi reports.
U.S. President Donald Trump says that reducing the number of U.S. troops in South Korea is not one of the agendas... for his upcoming summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
When asked whether he was planning to withdraw troops from the peninsula,... Trump firmly rejected the notion.
"No it's not, it's not a consideration. That is not one of the things on the table."
His remarks come as he met China's Vice Premier Liu He in the Oval Office, to engage in trade negotiations with China on Friday.
Currently, there are some 28-thousand-500 U.S. service members stationed in South Korea.
U.S. special envoy for North Korea Stephen Biegun had been asked the same question at his recent speech at Stanford University.
There, he stressed the importance of a lasting military alliance between Seoul and Washington,... saying (quote) "we are not involved in any diplomatic discussion that would suggest this tradeoff."
When queried about what the U.S. might offer as a bargaining chip to encourage Pyeongyang to denuclearize, President Trump avoided a direct answer.
"What, you really want me to discuss that now? Everything is on the table."
Trump is facing pressure to hammer out a more concrete outcome in Hanoi next week,... compared to the results of his first meeting with Kim Jong-un in Singapore last June.
Speculation over American troop reductions in South Korea had been raised... as Trump had repeated argued that the U.S. isn't being adequately compensated... for the cost of maintaining its military presence on the Peninsula.
South Korea and the U.S. struck a defense cost-sharing deal earlier this month,... where Seoul agreed to pledge around 8-hundred-and-90 million U.S. dollars per year,... a 8-point-2 percent hike from the previous 5-year deal that expired at the end of 2018.
Cha Sang-mi, Arirang News.
