John Kerry to Halt Withdrawal of USFK When Elected

Stars and Stripes, a newspaper for American troops overseas, published an article on July 20 that quoted presidential candidate John Kerry’s campaign saying Kerry will stop moves of overseas US forces, including the US Forces in Korea (USFK), if elected.

The article quotes a staff member of Kerry’s campaign committee, saying, “Senator Kerry opposes withdrawals for now.”

As for South Korea, Kerry would aim to pull back from the tense Demilitarized Zone and eventually reunify the Koreas, but only sometime in the distant future. Also, the article says that Kerry would consider moves from Germany, and moves into Eastern Europe only after the infrastructure improves there. The article also quotes a Defense Department spokesman to report that they do not “anticipate any significant large-scale changes being made in the coming months. Any major changes will probably come from 2005 to 2010.” The Pentagon plans to pull 12,500 of the 38,000 troops in Korea and plans to reduce by about one-half its 70,000-strong troop contingent in Germany.