Campbell warns substantial USFK troop adjustment will be 'misinterpreted' as reduced US commitment
A former senior US diplomat cautioned against any substantial adjustment to the US Forces Korea troop level on Wednesday, saying it could be "misinterpreted" as a sign of America's weakened security commitment to South Korea and the broader Indo-Pacific region.
Kurt Campbell, who served as deputy secretary of state during the former Biden administration, made the remarks, warning against steps that could lead to a "crisis in confidence," as speculation has persisted that President Donald Trump's administration could consider a drawdown of the 28,500-strong USFK to focus on deterring China.
"My worry will be that any substantial adjustment will be misinterpreted ... will be interpreted as somehow the United States reducing its commitment to peace and stability, or raising questions about whether the US is somehow withdrawing from fundamental commitments in the Indo-Pacific," he said during a forum hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Campbell voiced his concerns, portraying collective deterrence between South Korea and the US as an "essential" element in maintaining peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula at a time when he said North Korea is poised to take "much more" provocative actions, including deploying troops to Russia.
"The fact is we were able to work hard with our ROK friends to take some steps to buttress and underscore our continuing commitment to extended deterrence over the Korean Peninsula," he said. ROK is short for South Korea's official name, the Republic of Korea.
"I can imagine us taking steps that lead to a crisis in confidence that is very much not in our strategic interest."
Extended deterrence refers to the US commitment to using the full range of its military capabilities, including nuclear arms, to defend its ally.
The former diplomat underscored the need to bolster military capacity in the Indo-Pacific rather than being distracted from it.
"For me, one of the biggest questions and challenges is can the US, over time -- not over one administration, but several -- continue to invest the necessary bureaucratic, political, strategic and military resources to make clear that the Indo-Pacific is going to be the dominant theater for the 21st century?" he said.
"If you look today at the disposition of our forces, where we are spending a large amount of our time, you would find again that Europe and the Middle East take a substantial portion of those capacities."
At the same forum, Sen. Andy Kim (D-NJ) said that the Trump administration's reported consideration of a USFK troop drawdown is a "perfect" way to derail the Seoul-Washington relationship "at a critically important moment" for the alliance.
"I think that the next couple of months are vital to really solidifying US-South Korea relations with these two new leaders," he said, referring to South Korea President Lee Jae Myung and Trump.
Kim expressed concerns over what he termed a "neo-isolationism" policy of the Trump administration that he said is reducing alliances to "transactional" relationships.
The senator also pointed out that failing to treat US allies and partners differently from adversaries and competitors is a "huge" mistake.
"I think that this is something that's causing unnecessary friction between us, and our allies and our partners," he said.
The Wall Street Journal reported last month that the Pentagon was weighing the idea of withdrawing some 4,500 USFK troops to other locations in the Indo-Pacific, including Guam.
A senior US defense official later said that the US is looking to calibrate US force posture in Korea to deter China, apparently leaving open the possibility of adjustments to the USFK presence. (Yonhap)
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