Politics
17:14, 15-Jun-2018
Republic of Korea official: US forces in ROK separate to DPRK-US talks
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The US military forces in the Republic of Korea (ROK) are not subject to negotiations between the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the US because they are a matter for the US-ROK alliance, a senior official in the ROK presidential office said on Friday.
US President Donald Trump said after his historic summit in Singapore with DPRK leader Kim Jong Un on Tuesday that he would stop "expensive, provocative" war games with the ROK.
About 28,500 US troops are stationed in the Republic of Korea, a legacy of the 1950-53 Korean War that ended in an armistice rather than a peace treaty and left the two Koreas technically still at war.
US President Donald Trump shakes hands with US Forces Korea Commander General Vincent Brooks at the 8th Army Operational Command Centre at Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, south of Seoul, Nov. 7, 2017. /VCG Photo
US President Donald Trump shakes hands with US Forces Korea Commander General Vincent Brooks at the 8th Army Operational Command Centre at Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, south of Seoul, Nov. 7, 2017. /VCG Photo
“Let me be clear. There have been no discussions and no change in position on the matter of the issue of US troops in the Republic of Korea,” said the high-level ROK official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The official also said there had been discussions between the DPRK and the US before Tuesday's summit about completing an "early" denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. The high-level official did not elaborate.
The official said the US-DPRK summit "jump-started" stalled negotiations for denuclearization and hoped the ROK would contribute to speeding up the process.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who has been charged by Trump with leading follow-up negotiations, said the US hoped to achieve "major disarmament" by DPRK within the next two-and-a-half years.
Tough sanctions would remain on the DPRK until its complete denuclearization, Pompeo said, apparently contradicting the DPRK's view that the process agreed at this week's summit would be phased and reciprocal.
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Source(s): Reuters