US will not decrease forces in South Korea: Bolton
US National Security Adviser John Bolton says that President Donald Trump has not asked the Pentagon for options to reduce American forces deployed to South Korea.
John Bolton’s statement came on Friday, after The New York Times reported on Thursday that the US president was seeking options to curb the number of American troops stationed in South Korea.
"The New York Times story is utter nonsense. The President has not asked the Pentagon to provide options for reducing American forces stationed in South Korea," Bolton said.
On Wednesday, South Korea’s presidential office said the United States military presence in the Asian country will continue and would be unrelated to any peace treaty with the North.
Seoul also confirmed the arrival of the US warplanes last week, following reports by local media outlets indicating that eight F-22 ‘Raptor’ jets had arrived at a South Korean military airbase in the southern city of Gwangju.
The war games, dubbed “Max Thunder,” are due to begin on May 11 for a two-week period, with the reported participation of nearly 100 aircraft from both countries.
Pyongyang had in the past denounced joint war games between the US and its regional allies off the Korean Peninsula as a "declaration of war."
North and South Korea have been separated by a heavily-militarized border since the three-year Korean War came to an end in 1953. The conflict ended with an armistice rather than a formal peace treaty and left many families separated at the two sides.
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