U.S. Defense Secretary Calls for Greater Strategic Flexibility of Global Military Forces
The idea of using USFK to respond to global missions has officially returned:
The U.S. push for greater “strategic flexibility” for its forces deployed around the world could increase the chances of the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) being mobilized for missions beyond the Korean Peninsula, experts said Wednesday.
U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Tuesday that he wants to pursue more rotational force deployments into theaters as it give the U.S. “greater strategic flexibility in terms of responding to challenges around the globe.”
The remarks came in response to a recent media report that the Pentagon has offered the White House options to reduce American troop levels in South Korea. Esper, however, said he has not issued an order to withdraw forces from the Korean Peninsula.
Yonhap
You can read more at the link, but this issue came up 15 years ago and a compromised was reached that USFK would only be deployed if supported by the will of the Korean people.
What we could see happening is that a future rotational brigade that was originally scheduled to deploy to Korea instead deploys somewhere else. This would allow the U.S. to reduce troops in South Korea in a face saving way.
