A former senior U.S. official has warned that any substantial adjustment to the number of U.S. troops stationed in South Korea could be misinterpreted as a sign of a weakened U.S. security commitment to its allies. 

Kurt Campbell, who served as deputy secretary of state in the Joe Biden administration, issued the warning on Wednesday during a forum hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. 

Campbell described the collective deterrence of South Korea and the U.S. as an essential element in maintaining peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula at a time when North Korea is poised to take much more provocative actions. 

Campbell said any substantial adjustment would be misinterpreted as the United States reducing its commitment to peace and stability, or would raise questions about whether the U.S. was somehow withdrawing from its fundamental commitments in the Indo-Pacific region.

He continued that if the U.S. were to take steps leading to a “crisis in confidence,” they would not serve the country’s strategic interests, apparently voicing objection to a reduction in the number of U.S. troops in South Korea.