Reducing U.S. troops in South Korea would be ‘problematic,' top commander warns

SEOUL, April 11 (UPI) -- As North Korea continues to develop its weapons programs and strengthens military ties with Russia, a reduction of U.S. troops based in South Korea would be "problematic," the commander of U.S. Forces Korea said.
Army Gen. Xavier Brunson made the comment during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Thursday, amid concerns that the administration of President Donald Trump might look to downsize the U.S. military footprint in South Korea and elsewhere.
"We pay for U.S. military in Europe, and we don't get reimbursed by much. South Korea, too," Trump said while speaking to reporters in the Oval Office Wednesday.
During his previous term in office, Trump called for massive increases in Seoul's financial contribution for the 28,500 U.S. forces stationed in Korea, at one point reportedly demanding a 400% hike from then-President Moon Jae-in and dragging negotiations out for months.
Seoul signed a new five-year cost-sharing agreement with Washington in October, but Trump has suggested he is looking to renegotiate the terms of the deal.
On Tuesday, he wrote on his Truth Social platform that he had spoken with South Korean acting President Han Duck-soo about trade issues, including "payment for the big time Military Protection we provide to South Korea."
Brunson told the Senate committee that U.S. troops in South Korea not only deter North Korean threats but are a crucial line of defense against Russia and China as well.
"They are a critical component to ballistic missile defense in the region," Brunson said. "They are critical to helping Indo-Pacific Command see, sense and understand threats to the north and to deter a great many adversaries."
"To reduce the force becomes problematic," he said.
Brunson, who also leads the South Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command and U.N. Command, warned of North Korea's advancing nuclear and weapons programs and its growing military ties with Russia.
"The DPRK has shipped millions of artillery rounds and dozens of ballistic missiles to Russia over the last year as well as deployed more than 10,000 troops to fight against Ukrainian forces," Brunson wrote in a statement submitted to the committee.
The Democratic People's Republic of Korea is the official name of North Korea.
"In return, Russia is expanding sharing of space, nuclear, and missile-applicable technology, expertise and materials to the DPRK," Brunson wrote. "Russia's expanded cooperation will enable advancements of DPRK's weapons of mass destruction program across the next three to five years."
Pyongyang has demonstrated an ability to simultaneously provide external military support while simultaneously advancing its own domestic capabilities, Brunson added, boosted by cybercrime operations, weapons exports and illicit trade.
In February, North Korean hackers pulled off the largest cryptocurrency heist in history, stealing $1.5 billion of virtual assets from crypto exchange Bybit.
"Contrary to predictions of collapse due to food shortages, the DPRK is more stable than ever, bolstered by substantial resources generated through new revenue streams," Brunson wrote.
During the hearing, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command Commander Adm. Samuel Paparo Jr. also warned that a reduction in American troops would raise the likelihood of a North Korean invasion.
"With the loss of the force on the Korean Peninsula, there's a higher probability that [North Korea] would invade," Paparo said.
"Inherently, it would reduce our ability to prevail in conflict," he added.

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

UPI

27 minutes ago

• UPI

Israeli hostage remains recovered, Netanyahu confirms

People react as they gather to watch a live stream reporting on the release of Israeli-American soldier hostage Edan Alexander, in hostages square outside the Kirya military base in Tel Aviv, Israel, in May. File photo Abir Sultan/EPA-EFE June 22 (UPI) -- The bodies of three Israeli hostages have been recovered from the Gaza Strip, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. Yonatan Samrano, Ofra Keidar and Staff Sgt. Shai Levinson's remains were retrieved Saturday as part of a military operation. Keidar, 71, was killed at a kibbutz and her remains were taken into Gaza. Levinson, who engaged in the Oct. 7th attack, was 19 at the time of this death, according to the IDF. Samerano's remains were discovered by the Israeli army. "I thank our commanders and fighters for a successful operation, for their determination and courage," Netanyahu said following the return of the remains. The Israel Defense Forces has recovered a total of eight bodies from Gaza this month as the latest battle between the two adversaries ignited on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas launched a cross-border attack on Israel, killing more than 1,200 people and taking 251 others hostage. The return of the hostage remains comes amid a U.S. attack on three Iranian nuclear facilities Sunday, which bolsters Israel's efforts to cripple Iran's nuclear ambitions. Israel has recently started its own attacks on Iran. "The campaign to return the abductees continues continuously and is taking place in parallel with the campaign against Iran," Netanyahu continued. "We will not rest until we return all our abductees home -- both the living and the dead." The IDF did not say where the remains were recovered.

USA Today

32 minutes ago

• USA Today

Trump says Iran's nuclear sites were 'obliterated.' Were they?

While that may be the case, an independent assessment of Iran's nuclear sites by the International Atomic Energy Agency has not occurred. WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump and his defense chief say American warplanes completely "obliterated" Iran's three major nuclear complexes at Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan using bunker-busting bombs that have the ability to penetrate underground targets. While that may be the case, there has so far been no independent assessment of that assertion from nuclear watchdogs, international officials or others with direct information of the situation on the ground. And other U.S. officials have not used such definitive rhetoric. "Final battle damage will take some time, but initial battle damage assessments indicate that all three sites sustained extremely severe damage and destruction," Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Dan Caine told reporters a day after the strikes on June 22. The International Atomic Energy Agency, which is the main agency that assesses the scale and evolution of Iran's nuclear program, said hostilities would need to cease for it to resume inspections. The organization, housed within the United Nations, said it would hold an emergency meeting June 23. Trump said Iran's nuclear sites were obliterated It was not entirely clear what evidence or intelligence Trump was relying on when he told the world that Iran's nuclear enrichment capacity had been destroyed. He also disputed twice disputed intelligence community findings before the strike that Iran was not close to producing a nuclear weapon. "Tonight, I can report to the world that the strikes were a spectacular military success," Trump said in a late-night June 21 address. "Iran's key nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated." Hegseth used similar rhetoric at a morning news conference, saying that thanks to Trump's leadership, "Iran's nuclear ambitions have been obliterated." But a battle damage assessment is ongoing, Hegseth acknowledged during in the briefing. He noted it was the Pentagon's "initial assessment" its precision munitions had the desired effect. "Especially in Fordow, which was the primary target here. We believe we achieved destruction of capabilities there," Hegseth told reporters. Caine was more cautious. "It would be way too early for me to comment on what may or may not still be there," he said when asked about Iran's remaining nuclear capabilities during the same news conference. Live updates: US warns of 'heightened threat environment' after strikes on Iran nukes How much of a hit did Iran take? It was a "responsible" comment from Caine, said Simone Ledeen, the deputy assistant secretary of defense for the Middle East in Trump's first administration. Whether the Iranian nuclear program was set back a decade or decades and whether there is no more nuclear program period "really needs to be determined by a systematic battle damage assessment," she said. Yet, given what the president and secretary of defense know of the bombs that were dropped and where, Leeden added, "I don't think it's far-fetched for them to say that these sites were destroyed." Democratic lawmakers on committees that oversee the military, intelligence community and foreign policy apparatus are pushing for classified briefings to help them reach their own conclusions. "There is a lot we still don't know and we need an accurate, factual damage assessment," Senate Armed Services ranking member Jack Reed, D-Rhode Island, said in a statement. Senate Foreign Relations ranking member Jeanne Shaheen also said in a statement, "We are still waiting to understand the extent to which that action has deterred Iran's nuclear threat." "President Trump must now de-escalate tensions with Iran and immediately brief Congress," the New Hampshire Democrat said. Vice President JD Vance did not specify the extent of the damage to Iran's sites as he made a round of television interviews the morning after the strike. "But we know that we've set the Iranian nuclear program back substantially last night," Vance said on ABC News' "This Week" program. "Whether it's years or beyond that, we know it's going to be a very long time before Iran can even build a nuclear weapon if they want to." Iran claims its uranium stockpiles were evacuated Iran's IRIB state broadcaster claimed its stockpiles of enriched uranium were "evacuated" from all threes sites prior to the U.S. strikes, another assertion not independently verified. Russian Security Council deputy chairman of Dmitry Medvedev also said Iran's critical nuclear infrastructure appeared to be unaffected or to have sustained only minor damage. "The enrichment of nuclear material – and, now we can say it outright, the future production of nuclear weapons – will continue," Medvedev said in a social media thread. "A number of countries are ready to directly supply Iran with their own nuclear warheads." Russia is an ally of Tehran's and Medvedev is a previous Russian president. Israeli forces could try to enter Iran's nuclear sites in a sensitive operation and make a determination for itself and the United States, said Leeden, the first-term Trump defense official. But an official assessment will have to be conducted by the IAEA, which says it can not go in until the conflict ends, for the international community to accept it. "I hope it is the end, so IAEA can get their inspectors in there sooner rather than later," Leeden said. "You also don't want loose material getting into the wrong hands." Contributing: Kim Hjelmgaard

Yahoo

34 minutes ago

• Yahoo

Iran Stands Alone Against Trump and Israel, Stripped of Allies

(Bloomberg) -- Iran's leaders are discovering they're on their own against the US and Israel, without the network of proxies and allies that allowed them to project power in the Middle East and beyond. Bezos Wedding Draws Protests, Soul-Searching Over Tourism in Venice One Architect's Quest to Save Mumbai's Heritage From Disappearing JFK AirTrain Cuts Fares 50% This Summer to Lure Riders Off Roads NYC Congestion Toll Cuts Manhattan Gridlock by 25%, RPA Reports As the Islamic Republic confronts its most perilous moment in decades following the bombing of its nuclear facilities ordered by US President Donald Trump, Russia and China are sitting on the sidelines and offering only rhetorical support. Militia groups Iran has armed and funded for years are refusing or unable to enter the fight in support of their patron. After decades of being stuck in a game of fragile detente, the entire geopolitical order of the Middle East is being redone. The Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel was only the beginning. It led to multiple conflicts and tested decades-long alliances. It offered Trump, on his return to power this year, a chance to do what no president before him had dared by attacking Iran so aggressively and directly. Since Israel started strikes on Iran on June 13, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has spoken of goals beyond neutering Tehran's nuclear threat, even hinting at regime change. But the risk is that an isolated Iran could become more unpredictable with its once-steadfast allies keeping their distance. 'As Iran faces its most critical military test in decades, further tangible assistance from either Moscow or Beijing remains unlikely,' said Bloomberg Economics analysts including Adam Farrar and Dina Esfandiary. 'While both maintain bilateral strategic partnerships with Tehran, neither Russia nor China is a formal military ally, and neither is likely to provide significant military or economic aid due to their own limitations and broader strategic considerations.' Iran isn't getting any support, either, from the BRICS grouping of emerging markets that purports to want a new global order that's not dominated by Western nations. The organization — set up by Brazil, Russia, India and China and which Iran joined in early 2024 — has been silent over Israel and the US's attacks on the Islamic Republic. Iran signed a strategic cooperation treaty with Russia in January and it was a vital source of combat drones early in President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine. However, Russian officials have made clear the pact includes no mutual-defense obligations and that Moscow has no intention of supplying Iran with weapons, even as they say Tehran hasn't asked for any. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told reporters in Turkey on Sunday he plans to travel to Moscow to discuss the situation with Putin on Monday. He can expect warm words and little practical support. That's a far cry from 2015, when Russia joined Iran in sending forces to Syria to save the regime of President Bashar Al-Assad, which was eventually toppled by rebels last year. Moscow risks losing another key ally in the Middle East if the government in Tehran led by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei falls. Yet while the Kremlin has condemned the Israeli and US attacks, Putin is distracted and stretched — militarily and economically — by his war in Ukraine. China, too, 'strongly' condemned the US strikes as a breach of international law. But it hasn't offered assistance to Iran, which sells some 90% of its oil exports to Beijing. Iran's Gulf neighbors urged restraint and warned of potentially devastating implications for the region if Iran retaliates against US assets in the Middle East. Nations such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates spent months trying to use their geopolitical and economic heft to bolster nuclear talks between the Americans and Iran. In the end, the talks have been overtaken by military power. Iran's proxy militant groups are mostly absent too. Hezbollah in Lebanon, hitherto the most potent member of Tehran's 'axis of resistance' was pummeled by Israeli forces last year, much as Hamas was. Israeli strikes on Assad's military in Syria, meanwhile, played a part in his government's collapse. Hezbollah still poses a threat and on Sunday the US ordered family members and non-emergency government personnel to leave Lebanon. Still, the group's not threatened to back Iran by firing on Israel, as it did right after Hamas' attack in 2023. The Houthis in Yemen are an exception and hours about the US strikes on Iran, they issued fresh threats against US commercial and naval ships. Yet they risk another American bombardment like that one Trump ordered before a truce with the group in May. The Europeans, meanwhile, are increasingly irrelevant, in terms of swaying Trump and Israel, and Tehran. The UK, France and Germany have historically held an important role in the Middle East. They represented the dominant economies in Europe. The first two were colonial powers in the region and in the case of Germany, given its Nazi past, there was a strong pro-Israel voice. Both the UK and France have had to handle a vocal voter constituency that was pro Palestinian and complicated their messaging. That was not always an easy needle to thread. The current UK government is led by Labour, whose legacy was damaged by Tony Blair's decision to join US President George W. Bush in his invasion of Iraq in 2003. So for Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who has finally wrested control of the country from Conservatives, there is no upside to supporting any US military involvement. Trump didn't seem to need it, and the UK was happy to stay out of it even though it has enough of a presence that it could have been useful. Europeans find themselves sidelined with little power to influence the outcome. At the Group of Seven summit, Trump put France's President Emmanuel Macron in his place for suggesting the US was working toward a ceasefire between Israel and Iran. That did not stop Macron from working the phones, but the harsh reality that has filtered through is that Europe has its own existential crisis much closer to home. It needs Trump to at least make a cameo in The Hague for a NATO summit on Tuesday and Wednesday. The organization's leaders want assurances the US post-World War II commitment to stop Russian expansionism still stands. Europe has provided back channels for Iran in the past. In a climate where Europe and the US aren't working together on Iran, it's possible some valuable diplomatic signaling may be lost. That's one side effect of the US going it alone and of Europe being a bit player, as the crisis in the Middle East deepens. --With assistance from Eric Martin. Luxury Counterfeiters Keep Outsmarting the Makers of $10,000 Handbags Is Mark Cuban the Loudmouth Billionaire that Democrats Need for 2028? Ken Griffin on Trump, Harvard and Why Novice Investors Won't Beat the Pros The US Has More Copper Than China But No Way to Refine All of It Can 'MAMUWT' Be to Musk What 'TACO' Is to Trump? ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data