트럼프 "독일, 돈 안내서 감축한 것…더이상 호구되고 싶지않아"
The U.S. is pulling almost 12-thousand troops from Germany as part of a move the Pentagon says is to enhance Washington's ability to deter and respond to threats from major powers such as Russia and China.
Pundits say the move has limited impact on U.S. troops stationed on the Korean peninsula... but could affect the stalled defense cost-sharing negotiations between South Korea and the U.S.
Arirang's national defense correspondent Kim Ji-yeon reports.
The Pentagon is going ahead with U.S. President Donald Trump's plan to pull out about 12-thousand American troops from Germany... as a way to strategically reposition its forces in Europe to better counter threats from China and Russia.
President Trump on Wednesday also pointed to Germany being "delinquent" in its payments to NATO.
"We don't want to be the suckers anymore. The United States has been taken advantage of for 25 years both on trade and on the military. So we're reducing the force because they're not paying their bills, it's very simple."
Despite the South Korean defense ministry's repeated statements that there are no discussions about reducing U.S. troops on the peninsula... local media outlets have raised concerns that the move could impact the U.S. Forces Korea amid stalled negotiations between the two countries in striking a deal over defense cost-sharing.
In previous rounds of talks, the U.S. is believed to have asked Seoul to pay more than four times from last year's figure of 8-hundred-70 million U.S. dollars.
"Germany isn't considered as a suitable location to counter Russia, rather Poland has more U.S. troops for that due to its proximity. Considering the security and geopolitical nature of stationing troops in Germany and South Korea, it's vastly different and could not be compared... but given Trump's position, the recent move can be used by the U.S. in the defense cost-sharing deal with South Korea."
Meanwhile, the U.S. State Department has said the U.S. envoy who had led defense cost-sharing negotiations with South Korea, James DeHart, has been appointed as a coordinator for the Arctic region.
DeHart's successor for the defense cost-sharing talks with South Korea has yet to be announced.
Kim Ji-yeon, Arirang News.
