Esper says he has not ordered US troops to withdraw from South Korea.

Secretary of Defense Mark EsperMark Esper: Overnight Defense: House Passes Defense Policy Amendments on Insurrection Law, Nuclear Tests | Defense spending bill for House vote next week | Afghan peace is elusive after Taliban deal passes key deadline Maryland Republican Governor: Fauci ‘has never disappointed me’ Trump scoffs at pushing to rename Fort Bragg: ‘Are we going to name him after Reverend Al Sharpton ? ‘ PLUS He said Tuesday that he has not given orders to withdraw US troops from South Korea, but that he did not rule out such a decision in the future.

“I have not issued orders to withdraw forces from the Korean peninsula,” Esper said during a webinar organized by the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

“However, I will say that when I took office, it was clear that I was going to implement the National Defense Strategy. Part of that means looking at each geographic combatant command and making sure we are optimized and positioned as best as possible, ”he added.

Esper said the Pentagon will seek to make adjustments “in every command we have in every theater, to make sure we’re optimizing our forces.”

The Wall Street Journal reported Last week, the Defense Department had given the White House options to reduce the presence of US troops in South Korea to below the current level of 28,500 US employees on the peninsula.

President TrumpDonald John TrumpDHS expands staff authority to collect information on people who threaten monuments: Republican report points to Trump’s payroll tax cut on Republican coronavirus bill, for now Trump threatens to duplicate Portland in other major cities PLUS has for Years demanded that Seoul pay significantly more to keep US forces in the country.

Last month, Trump announced that he plans to withdraw thousands of US troops from Germany, framing the reduction as a response to what he incorrectly claims is that Berlin owes billions to NATO.

Washington and Seoul are in the midst of negotiating a robust cost-sharing agreement after the latter expired on December 31. The deal, known as the Special Measures Agreement, expired amid the Trump administration’s insistence that South Korea pay significantly more to keep US troops there.

The United States has had service members in South Korea since the Korean War. The two countries in 1991 signed the first of several ongoing agreements for Seoul to provide funds and support to offset the costs of the United States.

United States and South Korea in June reached a temporary agreement That lasts until the end of the year, but Trump has insisted that Seoul give about $ 5 billion a year, or about 400 percent more than what he paid in the now expired deal. A new agreement has not yet been reached.