Washington says that its plan to reduce some of its troops on the Korean Peninsula in no way suggests a lessening of its mutual defense treaty with Seoul or its security commitments.
State Department deputy spokesman Adam Ereli made the remarks Monday after being asked whether the U.S. troop reduction would weaken the U.S. ability to defend South Korea.
Ereli went on to say that the U.S. commitment to its treaty obligations with South Korea and its ability to fulfill those commitments will remain unchanged.
Earlier on Monday, a Foreign Ministry official said the U.S. informed Seoul during high-level talks of its plan to withdraw 12,500 of its troops from South Korea by the end of 2005. The U.S. side said the move was in line with its Global Defense Posture Review program.
It was the first official confirmation of the U.S. military realignment plan by a senior government official, with a deadline for the reduction that was much sooner than expected.