Why the U.S. House omitted Korean troops from early drafts of its 2026 budget

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Why the U.S. House omitted Korean troops from early drafts of its 2026 budget

Published: 16 Jul. 2025, 19:57

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

A RC-12X Guardrail reconnaissance aircraft takes off from Camp Humphreys, a U.S. military base in Paengseong-eup, Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi, on May 23. [NEWS1]

The U.S. House of Representatives passed its version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for the 2026 fiscal year, reinstating language reaffirming the deployment of roughly 28,500 U.S. troops in Korea — a provision that had been unexpectedly stripped from earlier drafts, raising alarm over the future of the decades-old alliance.

The clause was added back at the last minute through an amendment introduced by Rep. Joe Wilson, Republican of South Carolina, and approved by voice vote during a House Armed Services Committee session on Tuesday.

“It is the sense of Congress that the Secretary of Defense should continue efforts that strengthen United States defense alliances and partnerships in the Indo-Pacific region.”

Such efforts include “reinforcing the United States' alliance with the Republic of Korea, including by maintaining the presence of approximately 28,500 members of the United States Armed Forces deployed to the Republic of Korea,” the amendment reads.

The document further specified “enhancing mutual defense base cooperation, and affirming the United States extended deterrence commitment using the full range of United States defense capabilities, consistent with the Mutual Defense Treaty Between the United States and the Republic of Korea, signed at Washington, Oct.1, 1953, in support of the shared objective of a peaceful and stable Korean Peninsula.”

The language mirrors the “Indo-Pacific section” that has been consistently included in the NDAA in recent years, including in the version passed last December.

An amendment submitted by Rep. Joe Wilson, a Republican from South Carolina, to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for the 2026 fiscal year, which includes a provision reaffirming the stationing of approximately 28,500 U.S. troops in South Korea [SCREEN CAPTURE]

In the initial NDAA draft distributed by House Armed Services Committee Chair Mike Rogers last Friday, references to key U.S. allies in the Indo-Pacific region — such as Korea, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines and Thailand — were entirely removed. The only Indo-Pacific-related items in the draft concerned Vietnam and Taiwan.

While Korea-related content was restored in the House bill through Wilson’s amendment, other regional allies remain unmentioned — though those provisions could be added during the House-Senate conference process.

Meanwhile, the Senate Armed Services Committee’s version of the NDAA, passed on Friday, includes new language prohibiting any reduction in U.S. military posture on the Korean Peninsula or transfer of wartime operational control (Opcon) to the ROK-U.S. Combined Forces Command unless the secretary of defense certifies that such changes align with U.S. interests.

However, only a summary of the Senate bill has been released, and it remains unclear whether the 28,500-troop figure is included.

Some analysts caution that the “Defense Secretary certification” clause could, in practice, facilitate rather than block troop reductions, especially if the Pentagon is led by U.S. President Donald Trump loyalists like U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Republicans control both chambers of Congress.

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks next to U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth during a Cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington on July 8. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

While the NDAA has not yet been finalized through bicameral reconciliation, the scaling back of alliance language in the House draft and altered phrasing in the Senate version have raised concerns that a second Trump administration could deprioritize traditional alliances in favor of a hard-line China containment strategy.

Observers worry that Washington is increasingly focusing its defense posture on homeland protection and Taiwan, at the expense of broader regional commitments.

The Financial Times reported on Saturday that U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby has been pressing Japan and Australia to clarify their roles in a Taiwan contingency.

If Korea does not meet U.S. expectations for greater participation in regional deterrence efforts, there is growing concern that a future Trump administration may scale back the U.S. troop presence or redefine their mission under the guise of strategic flexibility — potentially weakening deterrence against North Korea.

Patriot missiles are deployed at Camp Humphreys, a U.S. military base in Paengseong-eup, Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi, on July 16. [NEWS1]

“The U.S. appears to expect Korea to remain focused on defending the peninsula, rather than playing a broader regional role,” said Chung Ku-youn, a professor of political science at Kangwon National University. “As a result, Seoul’s involvement in initiatives related to Taiwan or the South China Sea could be limited, which may, in turn, affect discussions of U.S. troop presence and the transition of wartime Opcon.”

The Korean government remains hopeful that the troop figure inserted in the House bill will be retained in the final compromise version. While the provision reflects a “sense of Congress” and is not legally binding, it carries strong symbolic weight.

“The U.S. troop presence in Korea is both a symbol and cornerstone of the Korea-U.S. alliance,” a Foreign Ministry official said Monday. “We will continue to monitor developments in U.S. Congress closely and maintain close communication with our American counterparts.”

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
BY PARK HYUN-JU [[email protected]]