Quieting speculation and fears that the U.S. would pull its forces out of the Korean peninsula, Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis affirmed that the U.S. will maintain its forces as it moves forwards with negotiations with North Korea. The U.S. maintains a force of 28,500 troops in South Korea and, after the cancellation of join drills and Trump’s post-summit statement that he would like to remove all troops, their continued presence was thrown into uncertainty. It is likely that troop levels in South Korea would be used in future negotiations with North Korea.
Source: Mattis says US will keep current troop levels in South Korea
