"Maintaining U.S. troops in South Korea" came into force, but...Trump Variables Remain

Enforcement of the U.S. National Defense Authorization Act, including a budget of 1,300 trillion won
" to maintain 28,500 U.S. troops in South Korea under the Defense Treaty"
" Congressional report on ways to strengthen extended deterrence and cooperate with South Korea, the U.S. and Japan"
With Trump's 2nd term ahead, the arbitrary withdrawal deterrent clause is omitted.

[Anchor]
The U.S. National Defense Authorization Act, which includes maintaining U.S. troops in South Korea at the current level, came into force less than a month before Donald Trump's inauguration.

However, uncertainty remains after the launch of Trump's second term due to the lack of legal coercion.

This is Washington correspondent Kwon Jun-ki.

[Reporter]
President Biden signed the Fiscal Year 2025 National Defense Authorization Act.

The bill, which contains a defense budget of $900 billion and nearly 1,300 trillion won in our money, also includes a defense policy that will be applied until September next year.

Regarding South Korea, it was specified to maintain 28,500 U.S. troops in South Korea.

It also includes strengthening defense cooperation between South Korea and the U.S. and reaffirming its commitment to expand deterrence by utilizing all U.S. military capabilities.

In particular, measures to strengthen extended deterrence against South Korea and advance defense cooperation among South Korea, the U.S., and Japan have been ordered to report to Congress by March 1 next year.

Maintaining the size of the U.S. Forces in Korea is included in the National Defense Authorization Act every year, but there is no legal enforcement.

During Trump's first term, the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act included a clause that prohibits the use of related budgets if the number of U.S. troops in South Korea is reduced, but related provisions have not been revived ahead of the launch of Trump's second term.

Trump has taken issue with the U.S. military's defense spending in South Korea and has expressed his recognition that it is possible to withdraw U.S. troops.

[Donald Trump / U.S. President-elect (last October): If it were me, I would pay $10 billion (W14.6 trillion), and they would be willing to do so. Korea is a money machine.]

Trump's new diplomatic and security lines, including Waltz, the national security adviser, and Rubio, the nominee for secretary of state, are also raising uncertainty as they have mentioned the possibility of withdrawing U.S. troops from South Korea.

This is YTN Kwon Jun-ki from Washington.

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