Korea Resists USFK Becoming A Deployable Force
USFK and Korean officials are meeting today to define the future USFK role in Korea.
South Korean and U.S. officials will hold the first Security Policy Initiative meeting today at the Defense Ministry aimed at refining the alliance and the future role of U.S. military forces. South Korea is also forming a task force to study a possible regional role of the U.S. military’s forces stationed here, according to officials. South Korea is reportedly concerned that it could be unwillingly sucked into a conflict between the United States and China over Taiwan.
This is a very sensitive issue since it deals with whether we allow the Korean Peninsula to become a strategic global military base for U.S. forces,” said a government official. “It is closely linked to the future strategic situation of the Korean Peninsula and the alliance with the United States.”
The official added the government was considering allowing a regional role for U.S. forces here except in a conflict between China and Taiwan. Now, however, the government is studying all possible conflicts and what role it would play if the United States wanted to dispatch troops based here. Another government official warned the United States could drastically reduce its forces if South Korea doesn’t approve a regional role for them.
A hearty "amen" to your conclusion. Yes it's unimaginable that this (or any future) ROK administration would want ROK to be involved in any way in a Taiwan crisis. Can't say I really blame them, either.
All ground troops should be brought home, if ROK needs MLRS or Apache's for their deterrent force let the ROK Army undertake that mission. The US air bases can be manned with skeleton US forces, to be ready to receive incoming US airpower as needed during any crisis with NorK. Long range air support on call from USN or USAF assets in Japan/ Okinawa/ Guam.
I think this would be a way of increasing the pressure on NorK, not lessening it. NorK could no longer use as propaganda that the US was preparing for imminent war. Not that the average NorK citizen would know, but the NorK elites would and dissension/splits within that group would increase over time (maybe this is happening already).
Withdrawl is the right policy on so many levels that I think it is bound to happen. Sooner the better.
I think many officials in both the Korean and American government think a big downsize of US forces in Korea would be agreeable but they need to find a way to do it where the ROK Army is able to maintain independent national security. It is going to take time and money before that happens and the Korean government isn't going to spend a whole lot of money all at once to upgrade their military especially with the sagging economy here.