S Korean President Dismisses US Troop Withdrawal After Peace Treaty With North

04:44 GMT, 2 May 2018

TOKYO (Sputnik) - South Korean President Moon Jae-in has dismissed the possibility of withdrawing US troops stationed in the country in the event of signing a peace treaty with North Korea, which will formally put an end to the 1950-1953 Korean War, presidential spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom said.

Sputnik

"US Forces Korea (USFK) is a matter of the South Korea-US alliance. It has nothing to do with signing a peace treaty," the spokesman said as quoted by the Yonhap News Agency on Wednesday.

According to the media outlet, Moon's remarks followed a proposal made by his special adviser Moon Chung-in on the withdrawal of USFK. This issue has cropped up following the recent historic meeting between the leaders of the two Koreas in the demilitarized zone (DMZ).

'Not Going to Happen': Expert Makes Forecast for North Korea's Denuclearization

30 April 2018, 20:50 GMT

At the end of April, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and the South Korean president held a summit in the "truce village" of Panmunjom, during which the sides signed the Declaration for Peace, Prosperity and Unification on the Korean Peninsula. The document commits the two countries to a nuclear-free peninsula and talks to bring a formal end to the Korean War.

Since no peace treaty was ever signed after the Korean War of 1950-1953, North and South Korea legally remain in a state of war. The 1953 Korean Armistice Agreement provided for a suspension of open hostilities and a fixed demarcation line with a buffer zone. Washington has maintained its troops presence in South Korea since that time. There are about 28,500 US servicemen currently stationed in South Korea.