US President Joe Biden announced on the 4th (local time) that he would temporarily halt the reduction of US troops in Germany promoted by former President Donald Trump. It also expressed a position to review the deployment of US troops around the world.
“Alliance is our greatest asset”
Exclusion of possibility of USFK adjustment
Korea-US defense cost sharing negotiations resumed
– President Biden said at a visit to the State Department on the same day that “Minister of Defense Lloyd Austin will lead the review of the relocation of US forces around the world.” . President Biden described this as “a measure to ensure that the US military presence is in line with US foreign policy and national security priorities.” President Biden’s visit to the State Department on this day was his first visit to government departments after taking office.
In July of last year, six months before the end of his term of office, Trump announced to Germany that he had decided to reduce the number of US troops in Korea from 36,000 to 24,000. This was because Germany did not properly share defense costs. Because of this, it was predicted that even in South Korea, where negotiations for defense cost contributions were stalemate, they could try to reduce US troops. However, as the Biden administration puts a brake on former President Trump’s order of withdrawal of US troops, the problem of restructuring US forces in Korea is also expected to subside.
President Biden has repeatedly expressed his position that he will not threaten or extortion the alliance regarding the presence of the US military. On this day, he emphasized that “the alliance is one of our greatest assets.” However, it cannot be ruled out that the role or size of the USFK will be adjusted in the future according to the results of the global US military relocation plan.
In this regard, on the 5th, the ROK-U.S. and the United States held the 8th meeting through video to sign the Special Agreement on Defense Cost Sharing (SMA). After the 7th meeting in the United States in March last year, the discussions resumed after 11 months. At the time, the two sides had tentatively agreed on a plan to raise the contribution in 2020 by 13% from the contribution in 2019 (1.389 trillion won), but the final agreement could not be reached due to the rejection of former President Trump.
President Biden’s strategy to differentiate himself from former President Trump was also revealed in his strong warning to Russia today. President Biden said, “We will take a very different approach to President Putin than our predecessors.” He emphasized. With regard to China, it has promoted’cooperation in competition’. “We will face the aggressive and coercive actions of China and attacks on human rights and intellectual property rights, but we are ready to work together in areas that benefit the United States,” he said.
It also emphasized the meaning of choosing the State Department as the first ministry to visit after taking office. President Biden declared that “diplomacy has returned to the center of foreign policy,” insisting that he will restore US leadership and alliances in the international community. He also tried to differentiate itself from the Trump administration, saying to State Department employees, “This government will not target or politicize you, but empower you to do what you need to do.” White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said, “It is no coincidence that President Biden took the State Department as a speech location.”
Washington = Correspondent Park Hyun-young [email protected]
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