S. Korea: US troop withdrawal not linked to possible peace treaty

South Korean President Moon Jae-in says any peace treaty with North Korea would have no bearing on whether American troops stayed on the peninsula. /AFP

South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Wednesday dismissed claims that US troops stationed in the country would have to leave if a peace treaty was signed with the North.

Seoul and Pyongyang have remained technically at war since the 1950s but Moon and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un agreed at a landmark summit last week to work towards a permanent treaty to replace a 65-year-old armistice agreement.

“US Forces Korea (USFK) is a matter of the South Korea-US alliance. It has nothing to do with signing a peace treaty,” Moon said, referring to the agreement that sees 28,500 US forces based in the South.

Moon’s comments came after a presidential adviser publicly suggested the presence of US soldiers, sailors and airmen would be called into question if a peace treaty were to be agreed with Pyongyang.

Moon Chung-in, the special advisor to the president of South Korea, had written in Foreign Affairs magazine that it would be “difficult to justify (US forces) continuing presence in South Korea” after the adoption of a peace treaty.

The Blue House — President Moon’s office — has warned the adviser “not to cause any more confusion,” with such comments, spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom said.

The rebuttal came as Seoul’s defence ministry confirmed that several US fighter jets had arrived in the country to take part in a regular joint exercises.

The F-22 Raptor stealth fighters last came to the South in December when Seoul and Washington staged their largest-ever joint air exercise, days after North Korea test-fired a missile believed to be capable of hitting the US mainland.