The US secretary of defence has denied a news report in South Korean media that Washington was considering a significant cut to its troop numbers in the country if Seoul does not contribute more to the costs of the deployment.
“There is absolutely no truth to the Chosun Ilbo report that the US Department of Defense is currently considering removing any troops from the Korean Peninsula,” Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman said in a statement on Thursday, quoting Secretary Mark Esper and responding to the report by South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo.
“Secretary Esper was in South Korea this past week where he repeatedly reiterated our ironclad commitment to (South Korea) and its people. News stories such as this expose the dangerous and irresponsible flaws of single anonymous source reporting. We are demanding the Chosun Ilbo immediately retract their story.”
Global News 
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