If Trump wins in 2020, he will pull US troops out of South Korea

Officials in Seoul laughed at his request for $5 billion to keep army presence

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South Korea needs United States Forces Korea more than ever. © Getty Images

According to a report on July 30 from a South Korean newspaper, Washington has requested that the government in Seoul pay $5 billion next year for the continued presence of its armed forces on South Korean soil. This would be more than a fivefold increase from 2019, when Seoul paid $879 million.

During my recent visit to Seoul, numerous high-ranking South Korean officials and academics actually laughed at this request, amused by the absurdity of such a high number.

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